


Don't Know What You've Got

by Starlight1395



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe?, Angel learns alot about himself, Angst, Character Study, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, References to PTSD, Trans Angel, cannon levels of swearing and violence, mild misgendering, past sexual assault mentioned, transphobic comments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:29:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 50,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlight1395/pseuds/Starlight1395
Summary: Angel didn't know why he and Alastor kept fighting. They had only been together for a month, and yet there always seemed to be something to bicker about. Sure, where were good times as well - times that made Angel melt because of how sweet and attentive Alastor could be - but it didn't erase the bad times.After a particularly nasty argument - after awful things were said and accusations were viciously made - Angel wakes up in the hotel's parlor with a killer headache. It was the same, but also different. Where was he? Did Alastor send him here? Why was his coloring offHad Alastor taken him seriously when he said he said they would be better off as different versions of themselves?
Relationships: Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 100
Kudos: 242





	1. Fateful Arguments

“I’m so bored... I’m gonna hafta blow some shit up, ain’t I?” Angel threw himself onto the couch of the parlor, his long legs sticking out over the edge. He had a day off work, and he was instantly on edge. After seven decades of constant working and being high and fucking things up, any sort of down time instantly grated on his nerves.

“The fuck you’re not!” Vaggie snapped from the other side of the parlor.

“Whatcha gonna do?” He sneered. “Ya gonna stop me?”

“I’m going to do more than just stop you,” She hissed, her eye narrowing into an angry slit. “I’ll-”

“Hey! Hey, no need to fight,” Charlie stepped in between them with a placating smile and her hands raised. “Angel, if you’re bored, there are some things that need to be done around the hotel! I’ll give you double the good-boy points if you help out.”

Angel squinted at Charlie, as if he didn’t believe her bribe. They were silent for a moment, until he pointed at her with two of his hands.

“You mean that?” he asked, squinting more.

“I do!” She grinned, fully aware that she had hooked Angel in. “So the more you do, the more you can earn. Unless... you don’t think you can handle it...”

Another several moments of silent staring. Finally, after a beat, Angel scowled and sat up, bounding over to the princess.

“I’m fuckin’ sold,” He held his hand out. “Gimme th’ list.”

“Wait, is that all it takes for you to-?” Vaggie was cut off.

“Here you go,” Charlie pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and placed it proudly in Angel’s outstretched hand. Angel unfolded it, scanned it and refolded it with a nod, tucking it into his chest fluff and leaving the parlor without another word. “I’ve learned Angel works best with incentive and spite.”

“You’re a genius Hon,” Vaggie chuckled, kissing Charlie’s cheek. “Want to go for a walk before you get pulled away for something else?”

“I’d love to.” She grinned.

Angel, to no one’s knowledge, actually really enjoyed housework. There was something satisfying about entering a messy room and leaving it sparkling. That, and chores were one of the only times he and Molly were allowed to spend time together without someone looking over their shoulders. Once Anthony turned fourteen, he was whisked away to work for their father, so he took any chance to see his sister.

The list wasn’t too long seeing how Niffty was on top of the cleaning itself. Things like folding the towels and sheets in the laundry room, helping prep dinner, a list of things that needed to be purchased, and furniture that needs to be repaired or thrown away. All in all, it would take him a single afternoon to finish it all, and then he could cash in his points at the bar all evening and finally get drunk for the first time in months.

His first stop was the laundry room. With all six of his arms working at once, the folding was done before he could even sing through his setlist from when he used to do live shows, way back before he was a porn-star full time. The only reason he still remembered his setlist after all this time was because he would sing it to himself as a comfort. No one had heard him sing in... years. Not even Al, and they had been together for almost a full month. Angel hesitated to call what they did ‘dating’ because they never made anything official, but they were certainly closer than most would believe.

Next he moved to the kitchen, pulling out the vegetables and meat that was going to later become their dinner. All he had to do was prep the ingredients, which once again would be easy for him. Two extra pairs of hands does wonders to speed up chores.

As he worked, he thought. He wondered about his life, and his decisions. Could he have changed his fate, had he known what would happen to him? Would he have denied Valentino, all those years ago, if he knew this was what would happen? Would he have survived his first decade without Valentino’s protection?

As he diced the onions, his eyes began to sting. If anyone were to enter the kitchen, he would blame the onions, but that wasn’t the only thing that was making him tear up. He wondered if he ever had a choice in any aspect of his existence. He didn’t have a choice when it came to working for Pops and the Family. He didn’t have a choice when he came to hell. Didn’t have a choice when it came to Valentino, because otherwise he would have been killed. He didn’t have much of a choice with anything, other than the sex and the drugs.

With a sigh, he piled the ingredients into containers and stuck them back in the fridge, taking a moment to clean the kitchen. He knew Niffty could do a thousand times better in half the time, even with his extra arms. He didn’t mind the work though. Busy hands kept a busy mind at bay, or so Molly always said.

Angel decided to do the shopping next. It was going to be a quick trip, and as much as he would love to do a little self care and pick himself up a few gifts - he needed some new eyeliner, and he wouldn’t mind some new mud masks, and the elastic on his favorite pair of panties was starting to go, so he could try to replace them - but he wouldn’t.

He knew Charlie wouldn’t be mad if he used some of the hotel’s funds, but he was already starting to feel drained - both emotionally and physically, so he probably wouldn’t.

“Mon cher, where are you off to?” Alastor asked, seeing Angel heading towards the front door.

“Runnin’ some errands fa Toots,” He grinned at the other demon, his fatigue receding a little. Alastor walked over to him and took his hand, pressing a kiss to Angel’s knuckles before returning the other demon’s smile. “Didja need me fa somethin?”

“Ah, I was just wondering if you’d accompany me on my rounds,” He shrugged slightly, giving Angel a dramatic pout. “But I see you’re on a very important mission.”

“When I get back I’ll come find ya, aight?” Angel tapped the top of Alastor’s head, his chest warming at the sight of Alastor’s ears twitching at the sudden contact. As scary as he could be, Angel thought Alastor was truly adorable.

“I’ll be waiting, darling.” Alastor summoned his cane and twirled it casually as he began to whistle. He headed back towards the library, where Charlie was most likely doing some paperwork for the hotel. Angel watched him leave, letting out a soft chuckle.

He sighed and left the hotel. It was going to be a quick trip, in and out and back in again - at least, he hoped it would be.

Unfortunately, it was not a simple trip. Of course he ran into several pitfalls - certain items being out of stock, and being stopped on the street by hecklers and perverts trying to get his attention just to name two. He even spilled his coffee all over the sidewalk when someone tried to grab his arm, which was the final straw. It had been his favorite kind, with extra whipped cream and everything! It was the one thing he had bought for himself.

“Charlie! I’m back.” He called out as he entered the kitchen.He hoped the woman was close enough to hear him, because he wasn’t entirely sure where some of the things he bought would go. When no one came, he rolled his eyes and started putting away the groceries that he knew the places of, leaving the rest to be taken care of later.

Angel checked his list and saw one last thing. He was so exhausted that he almost felt sick to his stomach, and the moment his list was finished he was planning on taking the FATTEST of naps. Maybe he would take a bath beforehand, if he felt up to it - partake in the self care he denied himself before.

“Wonda if Husky is ‘round...” Angel said to himself as he stopped by the laundry room and grabbed a bucket. The last thing he needed to do was gather the used rags from behind the bar to be washed, and then he was free. He wouldn’t mind spending some time with his feline friend, though, so if Husk was in the parlor, Angel would probably postpone his nap for a little bit.

He and Husk had been getting closer, ever since the night Angel had walked in on the cat having a PTSD flashback from his time on Earth. Angel, knowing all too well what it felt like to be trapped in his own mind, stayed with Husk until sunrise. Neither spoke of that night specifically, but since then they had a type of unspoken relationship.

Entering the parlor, he made a beeline for the bar. Husk was nowhere to be seen but there were two patrons sitting on one of the couches, talking. Angel knew them, and he wasn’t all that fond of them. They were glued at the hip, and consistently cat-called Angel at any given opportunity. They hadn’t tried touching him, but he wasn’t going to assume that would last forever.

“He’s just a good little housewife, ain’t he?” A patron laughed, causing Angel to grit his teeth. He wasn’t in the mood to fight back, so he just ignored them. All he needed to do was gather the last of the rags from behind the bar and he could leave. He wondered if they even knew he could hear them.

“We know he’s got the parts to be a housewife,” Another snickered, glancing back at the spider. “All of Hell’s seen his cunt.”

“Too bad he’s been tied down by the Radio Demon,” The first patron sighed. “I would have loved to have a go at him, even just once.”

“Wonder if he puts out for Alastor or if he was finally broken in properly,” The second demon laughed loudly. Angel felt the rag in his hands rip. “All a bitch needs is a few good fuckings to put her in her place.”

Angel couldn’t handle it anymore. Sure, he had his fair share of misgendering, but a surprising amount of people were quick to apologize and try again when they were called out about it. He also knew there was always going to be those who just genuinely couldn’t comprehend the idea, or even worse - the ones that do it on purpose just because they can, not wanting any reward for it other than the satisfaction of knowing they were an asshole yet again.

He knew this, probably better than anyone. ESPECIALLY with his time in the porn industry. He’s heard every slur, every insult, every version of gender other than the one he identified as. He’s heard it all and learned to let it roll off his back, because if he hadn’t it would have ripped him apart. What stung was that he had come to see the hotel as a safe place - a bubble between himself and the cruelties of Hell. In the hotel, he was supposed to be protected and cared for. He wasn’t supposed to be mocked so cruelly in his own home.

“Is there a problem, gentlemen?” Alastor popped up out of nowhere, scaring the two patrons. Angel gathered the last few towels, grumbling about how Husk just tossed them wherever he felt. How did one end up tucked between the ice cooler and the wall?

“N-no! Of course not.” The second patron stuttered, but the first just grinned.

“Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask you a few things,” He said to Alastor, who just tilted his head to the side, his grin looking almost condescending. The demon took that as the okay to continue. “Does the slut really fuck as good as he looks like he does on camera?”

“Ex-cuse me?” Alastor’s voice glitched, the static making his words jump.

“It’s just that you’re the first one to tie him down,” The demon continued. “We were wondering what you did to, you know...”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea of what you’re referring to!” Alastor trilled, his radio voice echoing through the parlor. “Our relationship is of no concern of yours.”

“Come on, you can tell us,” The first demon wiggled his eyebrows. “Man to man.”

“Ah, mon Ange, perfect timing,” Alastor grinned as Angel tried to sneak past without being seen. Angel took a breath before turning to face the three demons. “I was wondering if you’d be free to accompany me this evening.”

“Sorry Smiles,” He could tell his smile was tense. “I still got shit ta do for Charlie.”

“Still?” Alastor’s grin dropped slightly. “You’ve been running around the hotel all day, my dear. If I didn’t know any better, I might begin to think you actually did want to fill the role of housewife.” He let out a chuckle, but all Angel could focus on was his fake smile dropping off his face.

“Al...” He warned, hating how his eyes were starting to burn. He knew Alastor was aware of his long rooted problems with being misgendered. From how his father treated him when he tried to express himself as a man, to Val using his physique to sell more porn. Angel told him all of it, so why was he- he mocking him?

“You do look quite fetching in those sundresses of yours,” Alastor continued, not having caught the look on Angel’s face just yet. “You would make a good wife, wouldn’t you? Certainly make me a lucky man-”

Alastor was cut off by a damp rag slapping him directly across his face

“Angel?” He called, but Angel was already storming from the parlor. He gripped the bucket holding the rags tightly, his long legs taking him across the hotel towards the laundry room in half the time it would have taken a normal demon.

“Fuckin Alastor,” He mumbled angrily, trying his best not to cry outright. He hated that he was this affected by it, but there was just something about hearing those kinds of things coming from Al of all people really felt like a bullet to the chest. “Dumb fuckin’ deer asshole.”

“Angel, there you are.” Of course, Alastor managed to find him just as he was pressing the button on the washing machine. If he had been ten seconds later to the laundry room, Al would have found it empty.

“Whadda want?” Angel snapped, wrapping his arms around his chest.

“I didn’t appreciate you doing that in front of our patrons,” He said, his grin in place but Angel knew him well enough to see the tension behind it. “We’re trying to promote the hotel, not scare new guests off with our little outbursts!”

“Little outbursts?” Angel gaped, somehow shocked at Alastor’s casualness of the whole situation. “Al, how could ya say that shit? And ta th’ assholes that’ve been hecklin’ me since they checked in!” He felt his lip curl back, exposing his sharp fangs.

“I don’t understand why you’re so upset with me,” Alastor raised a single eyebrow in apathy as Angel stormed from the laundry room. He followed close behind and let his shadow step in front of Angel, making the spider pause in the middle of the hallway. Alastor wasn’t playing around - He wasn’t even smiling anymore. It made Angel’s chest spike in anger. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You- you’re supposed ta be on my side,” He felt his rage quickly morphing into helplessness. “You’re supposed ta be the person I can depend on.”

“I don’t see how I’m not those things all of a sudden.” Alastor was beginning to sound frustrated.

“How could ya say that? Ya KNOW how I feel ‘bout that shit.”

“I apologize,” It didn’t sound all that genuine. “I shall refrain from talking next time.”

“What? That’s not- what?” Angel spluttered. How could Alastor have turned this conversation into this? “That’s not what I mean and ya know it.”

“Well I’m getting the distinct feeling that you’re just taking your anger out on me because I’m a convenient target.” His grin was back, but it was tight and joyless. Angel physically pulled away as if Alastor had hit him.

“No, I’m taking my anger out on ya ‘cause ya used something ya KNOW upsets me, just ta... ta make me look like an idiot!” Angel could feel his hands shaking, so he crossed his arms tightly across his chest.

“You hardly need my help for that...” Alastor muttered, looking to the side. For a moment, all Angel heard was white noise. The sheer shock of hearing Alastor say something so... cruel, after everything they had been through.

“Whateva,” Angel hissed, his throat closing. “I don’t gotta sit ‘ere ‘n take this shit.”

“You always do this,” Alastor snapped, causing Angel to freeze. “You always bottle everything up, then explode on whoever is closest when you finally can’t hold back anymore. I don’t like to be that person, Angel.”

“It’s almost like we’re in Hell ‘n ‘ave fuckin’ baggage! Sorry if I neva learned ta handle my emotions. Not like you’re much better, Mister ‘Look at me wrong and I’ll make you shit your pants’.”

“That’s entirely different-”

“HOW?” Angel shouted. “How is that different?”

“You-”

“Sometimes I wonda if things would be easier if we weren’t... us.” Angel’s voice dropped, the sudden change in volume making Alastor flinch.

“What does that mean?” He was still bitter about the argument, but he couldn’t help the twinge of concern in his chest at the tone of Angel's voice.

“Obviously we’re both fucked up,” Angel grimaced at the floor. “Maybe we keep fightin’ cuz we’re just the wrong versions ‘a us.”

“Wrong versions...” Alastor didn’t know why that made him so angry. “If we’re the wrong versions of ourselves, maybe you’d be happier with another!”

“Th’ fuck are ya talking about?” Angel narrowed his eyes in confusion and frustration.

“My apologies, if I couldn’t be what you wished me to be.” Alastor ground out, his ears pressing down against his head. Angel’s fur stood on end as static filled the air, a faint green glow beginning to leak from the shadows, casting sickly, elongated shapes onto the walls. He looked back at Alastor and saw the other demon’s eyes had turned into dials, his claws digging into his own palms.

“A-Al?” Angel’s voice cracked as a shadow lept from the wall towards him. He tried to move, but found his feet were stuck to the carpet. “Al this ain’t funny-”

Suddenly, the hallway tilted. Angel felt his head spinning violently and he was having trouble figuring out which way was up and which was way down. His stomach lurched as he fell to his knees, not feeling a thing as he slammed down.

Just before his vision went black, Angel saw a look of absolute horror on Alastor’s face.

“Angel-” He reached out, eyes wide and... scared.

Then the world went dark.

* * *

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Angel spat as he woke up. His head was pounding even worse than that one time he and Cherri went on a drug-and-alcohol bender a couple of years after they met. They were so fucked up that they forgot a whole seven days, and it took three more to sleep it all off. Even after all that, the headache he had now was worse. “The fuck ‘appened?”

He tried to remember what happened, but was drawing a blank. He had a feeling it had something to do with Alastor, but that’s about as far as he could get before the throbbing behind his eyes chased away any coherent thoughts.

“Why the fuck are you sleeping in the parlor?” A familiar voice asked, but it was wrong.

“Huh?” Just the single syllable sent a knife through his skull.

“Aw, be nice Hon,” Another familiar voice, also wrong. “He looks so tired!”

“Maybe he’s sick? Though demons can’t get sick...” That almost sounded like...

“Don’t worry! I can whip something up real quick to cheer him up!” Was that-

“Guys... that’s not Anthony.”

Angel groaned and sat up, pressing the heel of his palms into his eyes in an attempt to make the pain go away, even just a little bit. When he opened them, he realized what had happened.

He had a stroke. It’s the only reason why he was seeing everything with a blue filter. The parlor looked exactly the same, right down to the scuff marks on the couch where Fat Nuggets had gotten their spines caught on the fabric, but instead of the familiar pinks and reds, all he saw was cool tones.

“See? He’s fine,” Charlie crossed her arms, her mouth twisted in a sneer. “He’s doing it on purpose for attention.” She looked the same, but she looked disgusted just looking at him, her silver hair pulled back in its usual style.

“Charlie, aren’t you being a little harsh?” Vaggie tugged on her girlfriend’s arm. “He looks pale...” Her palette had a similar switch, with dark hair and light features. Angel didn’t know why she looked so... wrong with one bright blue eye.

“Huh, she’s right,” Husk peered at Angel, his pastel wings opening in surprise and curiosity. “His coloring is off!” Husk surprised him the most, with bright, fluffy fur and large, sparkling eyes. His Husk always looked half dead.

“Maybe he really is sick...” Alastor muttered, his ears pressing against his head. He held his microphone in front of him, as if it would protect him from danger. He looked the most similar to the demon Angel knew. Angel blinked - Was he... crying?

Niffty muttered something, but she was tucked being Husk, glaring at Angel with her large, single eye. As soon as she realized Angel was staring back, she scowled and ducked completely behind one of Husk’s wings, hiding herself completely from sight. All he could see was the hem of her blue poodle skirt.

“Oh my fuck...” Angel trailed off, his eyes widening. He glanced down at his hand, letting out a strangled giggle when he saw teal markings where his pristine pink ones once sat. He felt his heart literally skip a beat in his chest, his entire body reacting to the single moment where the muscle has stopped working. “I fuckin’ double died... this is double hell. Oh my fuckin’ fuck...”

“The fuck are you talking about?” Charlie raised an unamused eyebrow.

Before he could respond, Angel’s head began to feel light, the pain finally overtaking his body. There was some faint shouting before everything sounded like it was coming from underwater, then everything went silent.


	2. Mirrored Reality

Angel wasn’t sure what was more unsettling - the fact that he dreamed about a Blue World where everyone was different, or the fact that he was _still there_. The events right before he passed out came back in pieces now that his head wasn’t pounding. He remembered Al, and the shit he said in the parlor. Angel felt stupid, because looking back it was obvious Al wasn’t saying it to be cruel - Alastor had trouble realizing how his words affected others, and was still adjusting to the things that upset Angel. He felt a twinge in his chest as he remembered the look on Al’s face when his powers went out of control, which was probably what sent Angel here in the first place.

He opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling, but it wasn’t right. Sitting up, he looked around the room he had woken up in with a heavy frown.

He could tell it was his room just from the layout. The furniture was mostly the same, and all in the same places, but that’s where the similarities stopped. His closet, normally bursting at the seams and unable to be closed all the way, was neatly latched. His vanity, once covered in makeups and hair accessories and face masks and pictures that he had tacked up, was replaced with a simple dresser and mirror combination. The posters he had hanging were nowhere to be seen on the plain blue walls, and the smell of cologne covered the scent of his favorite candle.

“What kinda bullshit decor job is this?” He scowled, taking in the... plainness of it all. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, internally pleased to note he was still wearing the clothes he woke up in originally which meant no one saw him indisposed. The outfit in question did make him frown a little. He hadn’t worn a suit in a long time - not because he didn’t like them, but because it was hard to find one that complemented his exaggerated measurements without spending half a fortune, and Angel was not rich in the slightest.

This suit, however, fit him perfectly. It lined his legs, the pinstripes making him look somehow even taller. The sleeves came at just the right length, and the shirt under was unbuttoned just enough to breathe, keeping the rest of his chest-

Angel froze. He rushed over to the mirror and stared at himself, trying to figure out WHAT about his reflection that was so wrong. It wasn’t the teal-blue markings, or the broken heart on the back of his head. It wasn’t how his bangs seemed to lay flatter against his head, rather than naturally fluffing out. It wasn’t how his fur seemed to be more grey than white, or how he was missing his signature golden fang. No, it was something even more shocking.

“Anthony? Are you awake-”

“WHERE ARE MY TITS?” Angel screeched, ripping his shirt open. He pushed his fluff together, but it was clear there wasn’t nearly the volume he was used to.

“Uh, what?” Vaggie stood in the doorway, her single eye wide and her smile seemingly frozen on her face. In her hands was a tray with a few dishes on it, and Angel guessed she had come to check in on him and bring him breakfast. Normally, he would be touched, but at the moment he was going through a small crisis.

“They’re fuckin’ gone!” Angel gestured to his chest frantically. It was clear Vaggie wasn’t following in the slightest. “What th’ fuck!?”

“I... don’t know how to respond to that...” She trailed off with an awkward giggle. “But! I brought you breakfast! Just like you like.”

“Ah... thanks Toots...” Angel felt his whole body deflate. He couldn’t wrap his head around anything that was happening, but breakfast did sound good. “Uh...”

Angel wasn’t someone to be ungrateful towards an act of kindness, but looking at the contents of the tray had him raising his eyebrows. A plate with two rolls, with a small container of butter and one of peach jam, with two biscotti cookies and a mug of black coffee. Angel blinked, not having expected such an... Italian breakfast.

“Is it no good?” Vaggie sounded genuinely upset. “I can make something else-”

“No, it’s perfect,” Angel said, his face blank and voice quiet. It had been decades since he ate something like this. In Hell, he took any and all opportunities to indulge, and that included sweets. While they were fairly well off, his family was very traditional, and didn’t approve of the new Americanized soft drinks and candies. “I, uh...”

“You gave us quite the fright,” She said, setting the tray down on the dresser. “You’re normally so composed! Seeing you pass out like that was scary.”

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he continued to stare at the tray, still in shock. “I don’t... I don’t exactly know what’s goin’ on myself.”

“Charlie thought you were doing something shady, but I convinced her to calm down,” She continued with a giggle. It was weird hearing such optimism from the shorter demon. “She needs to learn to trust us all a little more!”

“Charlie...” Angel had a feeling he should probably talk to her, but the memory of how she spoke to him when he first woke up didn’t sit well with him. “Uh, thanks fa breakfast. I’ll be down with th’ tray in a bit.”

“Alright!” Vaggie wiggled a little in place, dancing in the same way Angel’s Charlie would when she was excited. She bounced from the room, closing it firmly behind her. Angel looked around, half expecting Fat Nuggets to come waddling over, but the pig was nowhere to be seen - in fact, Angel was getting the impression that Fat Nuggets didn’t exist in this world. There was no piggie bed, no food dish, no bones for them to chew on. His heart hurt.

“I wanna go home...” He muttered, sitting heavily on the bed. He knew he should eat, but the thought of putting food in his stomach made him want to throw up.

Angel grabbed one of the rolls as he went over to the closet, looking for something else to wear seeing how he had slept in the suit. Opening the door, he felt himself scowl a little. He liked suits, sure, but he liked dresses too. He liked crop tops and skirts and jeans, but apparently whatever version of himself existed in this world didn’t share his love of cute fashion.

“How boring...” Angel whispered, going through at least ten different suits, all of the same style but with slightly varying color and patterns. Not even anything brightly colored. He finished his roll quickly and pulled out the least boring suit - a deep blue with lighter blue stripes running along it. “Th’ guy really likes pinstripes...”

He stripped from the old suit, throwing the garments off to the side, not really caring where they landed. As he was about to put his pants on, Angel noticed something in his reflection. Glancing down, he let out a huff.

“I dunno if I should be disappointed or not...” He grumbled, seeing that he hadn’t magically gotten a dick in the same way his tits disappeared. While he had struggled with his body in the past, one of the few good things that came with doing porn was a new love for himself and the way he looked. Would having a dick be nice after decades of being misgendered? Yes. Does having familiar parts make him feel less alien in a body that is quite obviously not his own? Also yes. As he dressed, he tucked that little enigma into the back of his head. It was too fucking early to think about existential shit.

He couldn’t find any gloves, which caused him to scowl again. Yet another thing he was too used to, taken away.

He downed the coffee, gagging a little. How Alastor drank his black, Angel would never understand. Not even Angel’s father drank his coffee completely plain. He could hear voices coming from the floor below him, the cracks in the floorboards in the same places as he remembered them.

Angel grabbed the tray, half the food still on it, and made his way downstairs, stumbling a little as he walked. He hadn’t walked in flat shoes in a long time, so trying to go downstairs in the sort of footwear that he had worn in his life took a moment to adjust to. Maybe he could find a nice pair of heels - if he was going to be here for a while, he wanted to be comfortable.

Stopping by the kitchen, Angel was relieved to find himself alone in the room. He placed the tray on the counter, walking across the tiles with only the faintest of clicks. Normally his heels could be heard across the lobby. It was almost unsettling that he could barely hear his own steps.

He peeked around the corner of the parlor and saw Husk standing behind the bar, dancing a little in place as he shined some glasses. Vaggie sat across from him, swinging her feet as she watched him work. Husk’s ear twitched, and before Angel could duck away, he was grinning in the spider’s direction.

“Anthony! Good morning!” He chirped, his eyes widening happily. “Vaggie said you were awake but I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Uh... yeah,” He shoved down his fight-or-flight reflexes and entered the parlor, making it over to the bar in just a few long strides. “You... uh...”

“You don’t sound too good buddy,” Husk frowned, his wings slumping a little. “Are you sure you aren’t sick? I can make you some soup!”

“I don’t think I’m sick,” Angel sat down at the bar, and for a moment things felt normal again. He had sat at the bar so many times that it was almost like a second home, even in this world that wasn’t quite right. “Just... confused.”

“Confused?” Vaggie tilted her head to the side a little, her bow flopping over. “About what?”

“Ya probably wouldn’t believe me,” Angel ran a hand through his bangs. “Hell, I don’t even believe me.”

“What do you mean?” Husk asked, placing a glass in front of him. Angel took a hesitant sip, raising an eyebrow at the straight whisky. His Husky knew the spider’s taste for sweet drinks, as well as the alcohol curfew where he couldn’t serve anything hard before five in the afternoon. Angel took another sip, not wanting to down it all at once.

“This ain’t right,” he answered with a helpless chuckle. “None a’ this is right... I dunno how I even got ‘ere.”

“You came to the hotel almost a year ago...” Vaggie’s mouth turned down in a confused frown. Angel blinked. He had only been at his version of the hotel for a little over half a year - how many differences between this world and his own were there?

“If I tell ya, promise you’ll hear me out before thinkin’ I’m nutso.”

“Of course Anthony!” Husk pumped his fists to show his sincerity.

“Should I get Charlie?” Vaggie asked.

“Uh, not yet,” Angel didn’t like the prospect of explaining everything more than once, but he’d rather have just Husk and Vaggie’s reactions first before trying Charlie and Alastor. “Just... hear me out.”

“Go ahead pal,” Husk gave him an encouraging smile. “We’re all ears.”

He made a show of flicking his oversized ears and dramatically winking. Angel, for as emotionally fucked as he was, couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous joke. His laughter faded as he wrapped two of his hands around the glass, letting the cold condensation soak into the fur on his palms.

“Uh...” Now that he was trying to talk about it, he didn’t know where to start. “Fuck... uh, I don’t think I’m who ya think I am.”

“Who else would you be, silly?” Vaggie giggled. She trailed off when she saw the serious way Angel was staring at his whisky.

“First of all, I ain’t Anthony anymore,” He didn’t even know how they knew his human name. No one but Valentino, Charlie and Alastor knew it. “No one’s called me that in decades, so I don’t know how ya know it.”

“But... we’ve been calling you Anthony this whole time,” Husk looked concerned. “You introduced yourself as that on the first day.”

“I’m not that person,” Angel could feel the frustration choking him. “Everthin’s wrong! It ain’t supposed ta be- be blue! And-and everyone’s actin’ so fuckin’ wrong and I’m wrong all of a sudden and- and I don’t know what’s goin’ on anymore and I-I just wanna go home-”

He was cut off by a sob. He slapped a hand across his mouth, trying to muffle the fear and desperation. Vaggie and Husk glanced at each other before looking back to Angel.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Husk suggested, refilling Angel’s glass.

“Ya don’t think I’m insane?” Angel sniffled, feeling ashamed.

“We said we’d let you explain before making any assumptions.” Vaggie offered a warm smile.

“Fuck... aight,” Angel sighed heavily. He took another sip, relishing in the burn as the whisky went down his throat. “My name is Angel Dust. I’m Hell’s top porn-star ‘n highest paid escort. I took Charlie up on ‘er stupid hotel idea cuz my landlord was tryin’ ta get my services to pay for rent. Got into a turf war with my girl buddy ‘n fucked shit up. Smiles came ta sponser the hotel cuz ‘e was bored and wanted entertainment... blah, blah, blah we got kinda close ta each otha, but still argued a lot...” He traced a droplet of condensation. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the others. “Got inta a fight with Al and suddenly woke up with th’ whole fuckin’ world havin’ a blue fuckin’ filter.”

“So... you’re saying you’re a version of Anthony, but from another universe?” Husk’s ear flicked as he furrowed his eyebrows. Angel blinked.

“Uh, yeah,” He felt a little stupid that he hadn’t summed it up that well himself. “That’s exactly it.”

“That’s... definitely hard to believe,” Vaggie chuckled awkwardly. “But- but it’s not that we think you’re lying either!”

“I wouldn’t blame ya for not believin’ me,” Angel scowled. “I know I sound fuckin’ insane.”

“Why don’t you tell us about your world,” Husk offered. He wasn’t entirely convinced of what Angel had said, but at the same time he was pretty good at reading people and he could tell the spider wasn’t faking his distress. “Maybe it’ll help you feel less homesick.”

“Maybe...” Angel propped his chin up on his hand, resting his elbow on the bartop. “It’s just weird cuz everyone’s so... different.”

“Different?”

“Yeah,” He let out a humorless huff of air. “My Husker is a grumpy alcoholic. He pretends he doesn’t care ‘bout anythin’ but he always finds ways ta cheer me up when I’ve ‘ad a bad day at th’ studios. Vaggie is a bitch thorn in my side, but sometimes our fights are kinda fun. She’s also disgustingly loyal to Charlie... Charlie is- she’s a ray a’ sunshine.

Always breakin’ inta song. Dangerously optimistic n’ painfully naive sometimes. Niffty is a ball a’ energy, always dartin’ ‘round th’ hotel, cleanin’ shit that don’t need ta be cleaned just fa th’ helluvit, and Al...” he trailed off, feeling tears gathering on his lashes. “Smiles is a sadistic bastard. He likes ta freak people out just fa fun. He does these creepy broadcasts where he carves demons up and then ‘e eats them. ‘E always got this... creepy grin on ‘is face so ya can neva tell what he’s thinkin unless you’re close ta him, then he’s as easy ta read as a kid’s book. He tries ta act all cold and above everyone but he’s so...”

“It sounds like you and your Alastor have a close relationship.” Husk said softly. They were both looking at him with large eyes. There was no way he could have pulled this sort of thing out of his ass - with each description, they believed him a little more.

“Ha. I guess....” He smiled helplessly. He missed Al, even if his words still stung. “We were... startin’ ta see if we’d be a good pair, ya know?”

“Wait, you’re gay?” Vaggie gasped, as if she were shocked.

“Uh, yeah,” Angel raised an eyebrow at her. “Been a full poof fa most a my life.”

“So you’ve never liked women?” Husk pushed a little.

“Neva. I can appreciate a pretty lady, and I’ve slept with a bunch but I always charge extra fa chicks.”

“Oh,” Vaggie blinked a few times. “It’s just that...”

“Anthony is very adamant about the fact that he’s straight,” Husk gave a little shrug, not acknowledging that the sudden announcement made Angel choke on his drink. “Breaks Al’s heart but he’s real serious about it.”

Angel burst out laughing the second his lungs cleared themselves of the whisky. Out of everything that had happened in the last few hours, that was probably the funniest thing. Him? Straight? Oh, Angel would be laughing about that for ages.

“Goddamn, this Anthony bitch really is th’ complete opposite a’ me, huh?” He wiped the tear from his fur as his chuckles slowly faded away. “Tell me ‘bout ‘im? I wanna play personality bingo with th’ differences.”

“Well...” Husk and Vaggie glanced at each other again. Angel wondered if they really knew the other well enough to talk silently like that. The only ones in his universe that could do that was Husk and Alastor. Even Charlie and Vaggie couldn’t do it as well.

“Anthony is a good soul,” A new voice joined them. Angel jumped a little, not having heard Alastor enter the parlor. The deer sat next to him, seeming so much smaller now that his shoulders were drawn in on themselves. “His temper is short, and he says a lot of things that he doesn’t mean but we can tell when he’s just upset and when he genuinely wants to hurt someone.”

“How long were ya listenin’ in?” Angel asked, not all that upset that Al heard everything - or at least heard enough to know that the spider sitting at the bar wasn’t the one they knew.

“Uh... I heard you c-crying and came to make sure you were alright...” He looked away, digging his fingers into his trousers. Angel could see his ears trembling faintly.

“At least I don’t gotta explain it all again,” He sighed. “You said ‘e’s been here for a whole year, right? Why’d ‘e check in?”

“Well, he used to control half the pentagram,” Husk whispered dramatically. Angel’s eyes widened - he owned territory? And that much? “We don’t exactly know why he left, but one day he just... disappeared from the eyes of society and showed up here with Alastor in tow.”

“Huh...” Angel digested the information. So in this universe, he was the one who brought the Radio Demon to the hotel, after he... ran away from something? He felt even more confused than ever.

“Did you need anything, Anthony?” Vaggie asked, noticing the uncomfortable look on the spider’s face.

“First ‘a all, don’t call me that. Please...” He hadn’t heard anyone call him Anthony without malice behind their words since- since before he died. “Call me Angel. At this point, I’ve been Angel longa than I’ve been Tony.”

“Alright Angel,” Vaggie agreed, saying his name as if she were tasting something for the first time. “Anything else that could make this whole situation more comfortable for you? It can’t be easy to adjust to a whole new world!”

“Mainly just ‘is clothes,” He scowled lightly. “He dresses like ‘e’s goin’ to a funeral.”

“To be fair, most of the time he goes out he does kill someone!” Husk chimed in cheerfully.

“Pft, aight I can respect that,” He shook his head. “I just ain’t used ta this kinda stuff.”

“What are you used to?” Alastor asked. Angel noticed he was watching the spider very carefully, tracking Angel’s movements with large blue eyes.

“Cute shit!” He threw his main pair of hands into the air. “Sweatas and crop tops and skirts! Do ya have any idea ‘ow hard it was fa me ta walk in loafers? I’ve been in heels since I fell ta Hell! And I ain’t got any a my makeup... I spent so much money on my shit and this fucka don’t appreciate th’ fina things in life!”

“Aw Angel, you’d be so pretty all dolled up!” Vaggie all but squealed, trying to picture the no-nonsense mafia demon she knew wearing makeup and heels.

“And th’ worst part? I can’t even wear lingerie if I got some more,” He pouted, resting his chin back in his palm. “I mean, I could, but it wouldn’t be th’ same!”

“Oh! Is that what you were talking about this morning?” Vaggie’s eye widened as she made the connection.

“Not only is everythin’ backwards ‘ere, but I’m fuckin’ backwards too...” He felt his eyes burning faintly.

“I don’t think I’m following...” Alastor looked between Angel and Vaggie. “You look the same as you always have.”

“I don’t got-” Angel cut himself, dragging a hand down his face. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” Husk asked.

“I should be thrilled ta have a flat chest,” He placed a hand against the fluff, still not used to not being able to feel his tits. “I should be, cuz my whole life I ‘ated my real tits but as soon as I got ta Hell and started doin’ porn fa Vee, I learned ta love my body more. Afta seventy plus fuckin’ years, I finally felt comfotable with the way I was, and now it’s changin’ again... At least I don’t gotta relearn how ta take a piss.”

“Were you a girl when you were alive?” Alastor asked. Angel winced at the question, but he could tell there was no malice behind it.

“Born female but always felt more comfortable as a boy,” He traced the swirls in the wood with a single finger. “Pa neva approved, so I had ta hide it fa most a my life. When I died, I got th’ chance ta be whateva I wanted. Even though I ‘ad tits and a cunt, I was still Angel Dust, th’ gay porn star. Sure, I got misgendered like no one’s business, but as time went on it stopped botherin’ me as much.”

“I see...” Alastor trailed off, a pinched look on his face.

“Wait, are you saying you have a...” Husk trailed off, his fur bristling in embarrassment.

“A pussy? Always had one babe.” He winked at the cat, who only puffed out more - oh Angel was going to have fun flirting with this Husk, he could already tell.

“That can’t be right.” Alastor furrowed his eyebrows.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I checked this mornin’.”

“No, I just...” He hummed uncomfortably for a moment. “I know Anthony has, uh, male parts.”

“Huh?” Angel felt his face twist a little.

“Anthony and I... we’ve been, well, personal with each other, on the rare occasion, that is...” Alastor’s face was bright red and was fidgeting in his seat. “I’ve seen him in the nude before.”

“Well that fuckin’ complicates a lotta shit, now don’t it?” Angel gave an incredulous laugh, throwing back the last of his whisky.

“What do you mean?” Vaggie asked, seeing how both Husk and Alastor were too embarrassed to speak just yet.

“If Anti-Smiles ova there is tellin’ the truth, then that means parts a me are takin’ ova your version’s body,” Angel felt his stomach sink at the connotations of what he just said.

“Which means we don’t know what else could change the longa I’m ‘ere.”

“Oh dear...” Vaggie trailed off, her one eye turning up in concern.

“Oh dear indeed.” Angel agreed, the whisky suddenly not agreeing with his stomach.

* * *

“I know I don’t call staff meetings all that often,” Charlie began. It wasn’t even lunchtime, and yet Angel found himself being shuffled into the library by Husk and Alastor. Vaggie had made some excuse to leave only minutes before everyone’s phone went off. “Mainly because your incompetence makes me want to kill myself half the time, but that’s besides the point.”

Angel winced. Out of all the changes, Charlie’s would be the hardest to get used to. As much as she got on his nerves, he came to look forward to her cheery morning greetings and learned to adore the way she could turn any situation, no matter how grim, into something positive. It took more skill to do that than most realized.

“But it’s come to my attention that there's something we need to discuss.” She continued, glancing at Angel as she did so.

“Oh! About Angel?” Vaggie asked, sitting on top of the desk that Charlie was leaning against. Charlie blinked for a moment before scowling and turning back to her girlfriend.

“Who the absolute fuck is Angel?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Anthony- or rather, he’s in Anthony’s body?” Vaggie made an ‘I-don’t-know-how-else-to-word-it’ motion with her hands. “We were talking about it before you called the meeting.”

“That’s... not what I meant, but now I’m curious,” She whipped around to stare at Angel, who just stared back. He was used to this sort of behavior from Vaggie, so he wasn’t going to back down now that it wore the Princess’ face. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Angel Dust, Hell’s favorite porn-star and top tier escort, at your service,” He slapped on his signature sultry look and held his hand out for her to shake, using his bottom set of arms to attempt to push his fluff together. “For a fee, a course. Women cost extra.”

“What the unholy fuck?” Charlie just stared at Angel’s outstretched hand, her shock morphing into disgust. “Who would want to fuck you, you piece of twig shit?”

“First of all, rude,” Angel dramatically put an offended hand against his chest. “Secondly, I didn’t get th’ title a top porn-star cuz no one wanted ta fuck me, bitch.”

“Well that’s definitely not Anthony,” Charlie folded her arms, giving the spider an unamused look. “He’s so sexually repressed he would burst into fucking flames if he tried to talk like that.”

“Dirty talk is only part a th’ job Toots,” Angel leered. He was having fun - his Charlie was far too innocent for him to flirt with and not feel bad after. This Charlie, however, was kind of a bitch and therefore free to be fucked up. “Wanna see what I can do with six hands?”

“I’d rather be exterminated.” She deadpanned. Angel’s grin faded a little.

“So ya got that ‘ere too...” He fought down a scowl. There were so many things wrong with this universe, but at the same time there were so many things that were exactly the same. It scared him a little, because he didn’t know what was going to be familiar and what was going to be alien, and finding out that the Extermination was familiar made his stomach twist. “Why is it only th’ bad things that stayed th’ same?”

“Fuck, we’ll talk about this in a second, but we have to address the reason I called everyone here in the first place,” Charlie pinched the bridge of her nose. “There’s been whispers that Madam E is making her move across the pentagram.”

“What? I thought she wasn’t going to try to take any more territory...” Husk tugged on the puff at the end of his tail, his ears pressing down against his head.

“She didn’t become one of the top overlords by playing fair,” Charlie scoffed. “As of now, it’s all just rumors. She hasn’t done anything yet, but I take this shit seriously. I’m not going to let some bitch take my territory because she let her head get too big.”

“Who’s Madam E?” Angel asked, glancing around the room. A sour feeling blossomed in his stomach when he realized no one would meet his eye. “What? Is she that bad?”

“If this becomes a real threat, I’ll have to call Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber in to plan a counter attack,” Charlie growled, slamming her fist against the desk top. “Fuck! This bitch can’t leave us alone for a single fucking month, can she?”

“Hey Hon, it’s alright,” Vaggie put a soft hand on her arm. Charlie visibly relaxed - Angel was relieved to see that their relationship was one of the few things that was the same. Well, same-ish at least. “Between you, and Al and your contacts, we’ll be A-Okay! I know you’ll protect us all!”

“Thanks babe,” Charlie smiled softly at Vaggie before turning to the rest of the staff with a scowl. “Keep your ears and eyes open. You are to report ANYTHING you hear about this directly to me, understood?”

“Yup!”

“Of course.”

“Will do.”

“Uh, sure Toots,” Angel said hesitantly. “Don’t know how much ‘elp I’ll be though.”

“You...” Charlie trailed off, staring at Angel as if trying to read his very soul. “You stay here. The rest of you, get out of my sight.”

“But-” Alastor started, only to be cut off by a sharp glare. He shot Angel an apologetic look before scampering from the library, leaving Angel with the Princess.

“Now, who the ever loving FUCK are you?” Charlie asked, leaning back against the desk and crossing her arms.

“You got about an hour?” Angel sighed, readying himself to explain everything, hopefully for the last time. Charlie raised her eyebrow for a moment before moving around the desk and sitting in the large leather chair. She held her hands out.

“The floor’s all yours.” She said, the look on her face nothing short of challenging. Angel fought back a sneer before taking a deep breath.

“Well...”

“That coulda gone betta...” Angel grumbled to himself as he walked towards the kitchens. It had taken almost two hours to explain everything, and even then Charlie didn’t seem to believe him. She kept needling him for details on things he didn’t think were all that relevant, but he played along anyway. As the time stretched on, Angel found himself getting more and more irritated, and he could tell Charlie wasn’t appreciating the attitude.

“Ah, Anthony!” A familiar voice called. Angel winced as he turned to Alastor quickly walking up to him. “How did it go? Hopefully Miss Charlotte wasn’t too rude. I know she can be... well, a lot sometimes...”

“It was fine, I guess,” He huffed, crossing one set of arms and placing the other on his hips. He didn’t want to lose his temper, but after the talk with Charlie and the fact that this WASN’T HIS ALASTOR- he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep his tone level. “I was just gonna grab somethin’ fa lunch before takin’ a nap. I’m fuckin’ beat.”

“O-oh! Could... could I join you?” Alastor asked, his gloved fingers tightening around his microphone as if he was expecting to be hit - Angel didn’t like that connection. He knew far too well what it was like to anticipate being struck.

“Sure, I don’t mind some company while I eat.” He shrugged and started walking again, the shorter demon’s footsteps quickly falling into tempo.

“I meant, um, after too?” Al looked up at him with large, begging eyes. Angel physically stopped moving when he comprehended what Alastor was suggesting.

“Ya wanna... take a nap with me?” He asked, wondering if this weird dream had fucked with his hearing as well as his everything else.

“Yes! B-but only if it’s okay...” He trailed off again, looking at his feet. “I know Anthony never liked me doing things like that...”

“Uh, maybe next time,” Angel had wished for Alastor to spend time with him for MONTHS. He had all but begged the other demon to just cuddle for a little while, but Alastor only agreed once. Angel knew he didn’t like being touched, so he knew what a big step it was for Al to agree just that one time, but it didn’t stop him from wanting more. Now Alastor was standing right in front of him, asking with big, shining eyes for the opportunity to take a nap with Angel. In any other situation, he would have been thrilled, but he... wasn’t. Because this wasn’t his universe, and this wasn’t his Alastor. “Once I get a little more used ta everything’ I won’t mind, but right now I’mma little overwhelmed, ya know?”

“Oh!” Al’s mouth dropped open into a perfect ‘O’. “Of course! If-if there’s anything I can do to-to make things more comfortable... I wish to help you adjust!”

“Thanks Smiles-” Angel cut himself off, his eyes suddenly stinging painfully. He scrunched his face, forcing himself to not cry, even though his throat was starting to close up with the effort. “U-um, I’m g-gonna get lunch...” He whispered, turning back towards the direction of the kitchen so he didn’t have to look at Alastor anymore.

“A-ah... Alright,” The disappointment was clear in his voice. There was no way he hadn’t heard Angel’s slip, or the sudden heart crushing disappointment when he realized that he wasn’t the Alastor that Angel wanted. “I have something to attend to, so, um... I’ll see you around?”

“Mm, later Al.” Angel offered a weak wave as he let his long legs take him away from the hallway.

He had hoped the kitchen would be empty, but unfortunately his luck seemed to have been left back in his own world, for Niffty was standing up on one of the island stools, making something at one of the counters. As soon as she noticed him, her entire face twisted into a sneer.

“I don’t trust you.” She whispered. The only reason Angel was able to hear her was because otherwise the kitchen was dead silent.

“I’m not sure I trust ya either honey,” Angel shot back, too tired to humor her paranoia or side-eye glances. “I just wanna make a sandwich ‘n go take a nap.”

“Why are you here?” She asked, shying away when he had to walk past her to get to the fridge.

“Ain’t that th’ million dolla question...” He huffed, his shoulders slumping. Niffty didn’t say anything else, but for some reason Angel thought the tension in the kitchen was the slightest bit calmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is my name Procras? Cuz this is my NATION. But yeah I have do to a shit ton of work tonight to prep cuz I'm going way this weekend, so I wrote this chapter in-between classes yesterday and today. I probably won't be able to even start the next chapter until Sunday night/Monday, which was even more reason to want to get this posted today.
> 
> Thank you everyone who's read so far! I was kind of nervous about the whole 2P universe because I know a lot of the time that sort of thing turns people away. I remember the 2P characters for Hetalia, and while I LOVED them, a lot of people didn't. That being said, I'm super excited to keep going with this now! Not only is it a character study of the 2P cast, but it's inversely a study of the Red Cast through their differences, plus there's going to be a lot of development with Angel as it goes on. Can you tell I'm a lit major yet? XD


	3. Get to Know Your Friends

Angel frowned at his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t know if he’d ever adjust to seeing a stranger looking back at him - especially a stranger that almost, just barely, looked familiar. He sighed and adjusted his jacket. As exhausted as he had been, Angel found himself unable to fall asleep the day before, so he used his unique spider features - something that did manage to roll over to this new universe - to hem a pair of pants to be a more comfortable length. Using his own thread and his claws to push it through small pinprick holes, he altered one of the plainer looking suits in the closet - he taught himself how to do his early on in his time in Hell, seeing how most of his clothing got ruined during filming and he didn’t have any money to buy anything new at the time.

He turned, checking to see if the hem was even in the back. The pants - now skillfully sewn shorts - came to just below his ass, showing off his long legs. He tucked the dress shirt into the shorts, letting the bottom stick out to look like pockets and the matching suit jacket, which he hadn’t altered at all. He even attempted to make shoe-covers with the leftover pant fabric, so he wasn’t wearing plain black dress shoes.

“Guess it’s as good as it’s gonna get.” He shrugged and left the bedroom. He wondered if this Charlie was as serious about mealtimes as his was. If she was, he would make it to breakfast just on time - if not? He’d be on his own, he supposed.

“Morning Angel!” Vaggie was the first to see him entering the dining room. The long table was decorated exactly the same, even down to the tacky candleholders, though they were silver, rather than gold. He was pleased to see a mug of black coffee sitting there already waiting for him, with the cream boat and the sugar bowl within reaching distance. It seemed their Anthony sat in the same spot Angel did. Interesting.

“Mornin’ Vaggie,” He gave her a curt nod before instinctively going to his usual seat, four in on the left side. He didn’t know why he picked that seat, but for some reason it felt weird sitting anywhere else. “Didn’t know if ya did family breakfasts too.”

“Mm! We try, at least,” She grinned brightly at him. “Charlie is usually too busy, but the rest of us like to eat together!”

“Did you do that to your suit yourself?” Husk asked, his eyes wide and tail flicking ever so slightly.

“Uh, yeah,” Angel suddenly felt as though he might have done something wrong. “I figured since we don’t know how long I’m gonna be here, I might as well be comfortable, ya know?”

“That’s so cool!” Husk quite literally had little stars in his eyes. Angel wondered if that was part of his demon form - eyes that showed his emotions. There were weirder features for someone to have, and they usually tied back to their sins in a painfully ironic way.

“You look marvelous, my dear.” Alastor looked at Angel as if the spider hung the stars in the night sky. Angel preened under the praise, not used to being the center of positive attention. Normally if he were to go down to breakfast wearing something he made, either no one would notice, or he would be mildly scolded for ‘ruining perfectly good clothing to be slutty’. He won’t lie, the second option stung no matter how many times it happened.

“You could do that professionally if you wanted,” Vaggie gushed, her excitement contagious.

“Maybe in another world...” he said without thinking. Everyone froze for a moment, and it felt as though the ground had been pulled from beneath him.

“Angel-” Alastor started, reaching a hand out, as if to comfort him, when Charlie made her presence known. Loudly.

“You still aren’t done eating?” She all but shouted, glaring around the room. “You’ll be double dead by the time you’re fucking full.”

“Babe!” Vaggie grinned and bounced over to Charlie, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Angel noticed how Charlie seemed to relax a little as soon as Vaggie was within holding distance. “Did you sleep well?”

“HA,” Charlie barked out, wrapping an arm around the smaller woman’s waist possessively. “By the time I finished my fucking paperwork it was basically dawn.”

“Hon, why don’t you let Al help you with that?” Vaggie asked, turning her large, sparkling eye up towards the blonde. Angel thought her hair looked almost white in the light, but it might have been because of the weird blue tinge all the lightbulbs in the hotel gave off. “He is the hotel’s sponsor, and he’s done really well with the stuff you have given him!”

“Hm, maybe,” Charlie glanced at Alastor from the corner of her eye, all but glaring at the deer, as if she were expecting him to do something to give her an excuse to be mad.

“But if he fucks up, I’m the one who has to deal with the aftermath. It might just be easier to just do it all myself.”

“I can help!” Alastor perked up, a hint of whining in his voice. “You- you should trust me as your sponsor! I’m the one keeping the hotel running after all...”

“What was that, you overripe blueberry bitch?” She growled, narrowing her eyes at him. Alastor whimpered and sunk down in his chair a little, his eyes growing glassy as he tugged on his ears.

“He said he’s th’ reason ya shitty fuckin’ hotel is still a thing,” Angel snapped back, scowling at the Princess. Everyone in the dining room held their breath. “Ya deaf too?”

“What do you mean... too?” Charlie hissed, her eyes growing dark.

“Deaf and a raging, hormonal bitch,” Angel grinned, showing his fangs. This wasn’t a happy grin, but rather one specifically to intimidate. He was proving he could fight. “Eva wonda why no one’s comin’ in? Cuz you’re a BITCH.”

“I should rip your head off right now-”

“And what? Stains your nice, pretty rugs with my dirty, dirty blood?” Angel scoffed. “Then you’d have to either clean it, or replace it, and I doubt ya care enough ta put that much effort in.”

“Angel, maybe you should-” Husk whispered, tugging on Angel’s jacket sleeve.

“You think you’re hot shit, don’t you?” Charlie cut Husk off, her own grin bitter and sarcastic. It only made Angel’s curl more. “Think you’re some big shot from another world? Well I have some news for you, Slut. I’m not some blonde bimbo who’ll let you walk all over her for the sake of saving your pride-”

“OOH~” Angel moaned loudly, gripping his chest and tugging on the fur. Everyone jumped, eyes wide and embarrassment clear on their faces. “Give me more~ Don’t hold back Mommy.”

Dead silence blanketed the room, all eyes glued to Angel, who was grinning like a madman. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Charlie, who was standing with her jaw open. Husk’s fur was so puffed that he almost looked like a perfect circle. Vaggie was covering her mouth with her hands, her pale skin burning bright red. Alastor was staring at Angel, his face flushed and a strange glint in his eyes. He shifted a little in his seat before looking away, almost ashamed.

Charlie broke the silence by laughing hysterically. She laughed until she was doubled over, arms wrapped around her middle in an attempt to make it stop. Her face was turning as red as her girlfriend’s, unable to take a full breath before another round of laughter took over her body.

Angel just sat back in his chair, grinning lazily and stirring some sugar into his coffee. He was used to a menagerie of responses to that sort of thing, but uncontrollable laughter was a new one.

“You know what?” Charlie said, wiping the tears that were clinging to her eyelashes. “I guess you’re alright.”

“I’d love ta same back atcha, but I don’t like lyin.” Angel winked flirtatiously, causing her to throw her head back and laugh again.

“This is going to be a fucking nightmare,” her laughs tapered off as she shook her head gently. “If this doesn’t kill me, I’ll do it myself.”

Angel cackled, a new sense of comradery forming in the air. He and Charlie locked eyes, nodding once at each other before the Princess sat in her seat. She and Angel assembled their morning beverages, shooting out little comments to each other as everyone else watched, their eyes bouncing between them like a tennis match.

“That’s a lot of sugar. Don’t want to gain any weight.”

“Careful Toots, ya might start ta block out th’ pentagram with that sunny disposition.”

“Trying to cover up the taste of dick?”

“At least I’m ova my angry at the world phase. Got past that decades ago babe, ya should try it.”

“At least I have a partner. Bet a whore like you hasn't had a steady significant other.”

“Yeah, but I could probably make her cum faster than you-”

“This is nice,” Vaggie smiled, her voice only slightly strained. “They’re getting along! I think...”

“This is getting along?” Husk continued to glance between them, Angel and Charlie not paying any attention to their side conversion.

“My goodness...” Alastor breathed, half-lidded eyes glued to Angel’s cocky grin.

It was definitely an eventful start to an eventful new existence.

* * *

Angel wandered into the parlor, wondering why the hotel was so quiet. It was only a few days since he woke up in this world, and he was still being caught off guard by the subtle changes that appeared left and right.

“Husky!” He grinned and called over, waving to the cat.

“Oh! Good morning Angel,” Husk smiled happily. “I would wave, but...”

He glanced down and Angel noticed the heavy looking boxes in Husk’s hands. Without hesitation, he went over and took the top box from the other demon. Husk blinked, surprise clearly showing on his face - literally, with little question marks shining in the center of his large eyes.

“Where ya goin’ with these?” He asked, using his bottom pair of hands to adjust the box into a more comfortable position.

“Just over to the bar,” Husk said, using his nose to point in the direction he had been walking in. “It’s restocking day, so everyone’s out getting supplies the hotel needs.”

“Oh, that’s probably why it’s so damn quiet today,” Angel hummed, heaving the box up onto the top of the bar. The sound of glass bottles clinking together echoed a little through the empty parlor. “And ‘ere I thought everyone just vanished.”

“You’re so funny,” Husk laughed, and Angel was almost shocked to hear no mocking in his tone whatsoever. “I’m actually really glad you came to help me! I think you’re neat.”

“You’re pretty neat yaself there, Husker,” Angel chuckled, a warm feeling spreading through his chest. Most of his conversations with his Husk were sharp and cold. “Ya know, one a th’ weirdest parts a’ you all is how nice ya are.”

“Are your friends not nice to you?” The genuine concern in Husk’s voice made Angel freeze in his place.

“They’re uh...” He trailed off, a sad smile curling his lips. “They’re good in their own ways. They’re a little harsh sometimes, ‘n don’t really understand when somethin’ cuts a lil too deep, but they’re okay.”

“Can you tell me about your Husk?” he asked, tilting his head to the side a little. Angel fought back the urge to reach out and pet the top of the cat’s head. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to! I won’t make you. I’m just... curious.”

“I don’t mind,” Angel sat in one of the barstools as Husk began to pull the almost empty bottles out from underneath and replace them with new ones. “My Husk is pretty closed off and kinda cold. He’s a shitty drunk and is blacked out somewhere most of the time. ‘E says he lost th’ ability ta love, but I can tell he cares for us in his own stupid way.”

“What do you mean?”

“He refuses to say anythin’, but he’ll do lil things instead,” Angel smiled softly as he remembered the times Husk had shown his affection. “It’s usually things like makin’ my drinks a lil’ stronger than Charlie wants them ta be, or gettin’ me outta conversations I don’t wanna be in, or tellin’ some asshole off for being a bigot.”

“He sounds nice,” Husk said softly. “But just a little rough around the edges.”

“I don’t know much ‘bout his life topside, but I know th’ war fucked him up big time.”

“War?” Husk froze, paws in midair.

“Mm, ‘pparently he was a medic in Nam,” Angel recalled the haunted look in Husk’s eyes whenever someone mentions any kind of war, or how the cat flinches any time gunshots sound outside of the hotel. “He don’t talk ‘bout it much, but sometimes when he’s really drunk and sad he’ll mutter about shit.”

“I was in the war too,” Husk whispered, his ears pressing down against his head. Angel frowned, his eyebrows curving in concern. He didn’t know this Husk could sound so... beaten down. “Medic, just like yours. I... went through my service like a good little soldier. I killed who I was told to kill. Burnt what I was told to burn. I never spoke against my orders, no matter how badly I wanted to just... run away. I even got awards, afterwards - for being such a good pawn in their stupid war... I hated getting that metal, because I didn’t want to do any of it. I didn’t have a choice though... I stood there and took the metal with a smile, but in reality I wanted to scream in their faces. I wanted to beat the fuck out of them, right there on the stage.”

Angel listened in silence, connecting a few dots. He realized the reason Husk’s eyes so clearly gave away his emotions was because he masked them so well in life, which led him to being publicly praised for his sins.

“Why did ya decide ta be a bartender?” Angel asked, seeing how slumped Husk’s wings were looking and wanted to change the subject a little. He was curious about the pastel blue demon, so he didn’t want to end the conversation too quickly.

“I love meeting new people!” he instantly brightened. “And the bar is the best place to make new friends! I used to get so many interesting demons coming by my bar before Al called me to help out at the hotel! It’s a little sad that there aren’t many patrons here, because I miss seeing new faces, but I’m learning how to find fun in the small things.”

“Wow, you’re amazin’ Husky.” Angel shook his head in mild disbelief. How was it possible for this Husk to be so... bright all the time? Especially after what he went through in his life. A sobering thought passed through Angel’s mind - what if he didn’t have a choice? What if after repressing his own emotions to commit atrocities, his personal Hell is having to wear his heart on his sleeve? Having to feel all of his emotions all the time. Angel would never be able to survive that sort of existence.

No wonder Angel’s Husk was a drunk.

“Aw, I’m nothing too special,” Husk smiled shyly, his fur fluffing a little in happiness at the compliment. “Now you, on the other hand. You’re the special one.”

“Eh?” He raised one eyebrow.

“I mean it!” His entire body perked up. “You came from a whole other world! You’re a Mafioso AND made a name for yourself as top adult actor, all on your own!”

“Well... not on my own...” Angel’s stomach turned. One of the up-sides to being in the Blue World is that Valentino wasn’t around to bother him. From what he gathered, the porn industry wasn’t nearly as big here, and either Val was VERY lowkey, or someone else entirely was in charge.

“Everyone needs a little help sometimes,” Husk continued. He must have misunderstood the hesitance in the spider’s voice. “Doesn’t make your accomplishments any less important.”

“Thanks, Husker...” Angel’s chest was tight, but he wasn’t sure if it was entirely bad.

“Mm, anything for my new friend! Now, would you be able to help me take these empty bottles out to the trash?”

* * *

  
“Fuck!” he shouted as he reached out, but even with his four arms he wasn’t fast enough to stop the vase from crashing onto the floor. Thankfully it was empty, but it still shattered against the hardwood flooring. Angel groaned - the one place in what felt like the entire hotel that didn’t have a damn rug!

In an instant, the sound of little feet came pattering in his direction. Before Angel could even properly bend down to start picking up the pieces, Niffty darted between his legs and started gathering the shards, putting them in her little skirt.

“Ah, careful honey-” Angel reached out, only to freeze when she whipped her head around to glare at him.

“Don’t touch it.” She snapped.

“I can throw it out,” Angel huffed a little. “I ain’t that delicate-”

“No!” She cut him off, her eye wide. “Throw it out? Are you kidding me? I can piece it back together! And if I can’t... If I can’t, I can use it for something else.”

“Something... else?” He tried not to sound disbelieving but didn’t do that good of a job.

“If one of the rooms needs a new lighting fixture, I could string the shards together and make a chandelier, or if the Princess needed a new layer of security at the front door, sharp objects could come in handy-” Niffty flinched. She had been gathering the vase shards into her skirt, but had cut her little hand on the edge. The scent of sweet iron filled the hallway almost instantly.

“Here,” Angel reached out, using her moment of distraction to his advantage. Putting a hand up to his mouth, he managed to grab a thread of silk and began weaving it into a simple pouch. No more than two minutes later, the pouch was complete and he was dumping the shards inside of it. “Now ya won’t cut yourself. Just take a sharp knife ta the side and it’ll rip with enough force.”

“I didn’t know you could do that,” She said, taking the bag with a small nod of thanks. “I guess Anthony just never told us...”

“Sometimes we keep things ta ourselves, even if it don’t seem like that big of a deal ta othas, ya know?” He scratched the back of his head. “I neva cared ‘bout the silk cuz it came in handy with my work, but from what I’ve been told ‘bout ya version a me, he wasn’t th’ type a person ta be super open ‘bout himself.”

“Yeah... even after he came to the hotel, he kept to himself,” She cradled the pouch against her chest. “It took me a long time to trust him too.”

“He was th’ one ta bring Al to th’ hotel, right?” He asked. Niffty nodded, looking to the side. It didn’t escape Angel’s attention that she didn’t want to look him in the eye at that particular moment. “Do ya know anythin’ ‘bout that?”

“No,” Her response was slightly sharper than before. “No one really wanted to talk about it. Boss brought me and Husk into the picture after whatever happened between him and Anthony. Boss has always been a strange guy, but he seemed extra shaken when he first pulled us into this mess. We knew better than to ask about it though.”

“Huh...” Angel frowned a little. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but that was not it in the slightest. He felt he was a little closer to whatever happened between Anthony and Blue Alastor, but at the same time he had taken three steps back.

“Are you wearing makeup?” Niffty asked suddenly, breaking Angel from his thoughts.

“No, haven't gotten th’ chance ta go out ‘n get some,” He frowned a little. “Why?”

“Maybe it’s just the lighting...” She trailed off for a moment before catching the look on the spider’s face and continuing. “It’s just that... maybe it’s the lighting, but your fur looks like it’s a darker color.”

“Wha-” Angel looked down and frowned. She was right - the teal markings that looked so foreign against his cream fur were a little darker, boarding between teal and almost purple.

“That’s not the lighting... is it?” Her voice dropped into a whisper. Angel didn’t answer as he gently rubbed the markings, trying to see if maybe it was something he had gotten in his fur, or if the shadows were playing tricks on their eyes.

Nothing changed. Even with one of his other hands blocking the blue tinged light and casting a shadow over the markings, they remained slightly darkened.

“I don’t think it is...” He trailed off, a strange feeling building in his stomach. It wasn’t necessarily a bad feeling, but a strange one nonetheless. He wondered what this could possibly mean.

If Anthony had a dick, but Angel - even in this world - doesn’t, that means Angel coming into Anthony’s body changed it physically. Was Anthony going to turn completely into Angel? Was Anthony going to disappear, and Angel would be stuck in this universe for good?

The thought sent a shiver down his spine. It wasn’t that this world was bad - it was quite the opposite, actually. The versions here, while wildly different, were almost kinder and more accepting than his own friends. Even Charlie, who was cynical and bitter, seemed to relate to him on a level that his own was never able to do. He felt like he fit in with this world better somehow, but even just the brief thought that he would be stuck here for the rest of eternity... it scared him.

“Are you... alright?” Niffty’s voice broke Angel from his panic.

“Oh fuck,” His voice shook. “I don’t know what’s goin’ on...”

“I don’t think any of us do.” Her arms around the pouch tightened, but for the first time since Angel woke up in this hotel, she didn’t seem mad at him.

“Fuck...” He ran a hand down his face. “I need ta talk ta Charlie ‘bout this.”

“If anyone would know what’s going on, it would probably he her,” Niffty agreed. “She can be a little mean, but she’s really smart and if she can’t find something she can find someone who has what she’s looking for.”

“Mm, I’ll do that then,” Angel smiled at Niffty - just a small one, where his fangs barely showed at all. She returned it hesitantly, ducking behind her bangs a little. “Make sure ta wash your hand too, aight? No need ta get an infection.”

“It’s all healed up already,” She held her palm out to show him. True to her word, there was just a thin layer of drying blood against her dark skin. “Thanks for... worrying about me.”

“Anytime Honey,” Angel let out a huff of a laugh. He resisted the urge to reach out and pat the top of her head. “See ya around?”

“Maybe.” She said quickly, but Angel could tell she genuinely meant that. She paused for one moment longer, looking at Angel as if she were trying to decode a puzzle, before zipping off down the hall with the silk pouch clutched tightly in her arms.

Angel had a lot to think about, but he needed coffee first. He would actually prefer a few shots, but Husk made it clear that he didn’t support alcoholism and wouldn’t give Angel anything if it looked like the spider was trying to self medicate. So since shots were off the table, he made his way towards the kitchen for a boost from one of the only addictions he still had - caffeine.

* * *

He took a drag of his cigarette, watching the city bustle along below him. The roof, he found, was one of his favorite places in this universe as well. It was isolated enough that he felt like he could think but open enough to not feel choked. Charlie had been hesitant to let him up on his own, probably because she thought he would try to jump off the edge of the building, but he just wanted some fresh air without being watched.

Here, the roof door was already unlocked. From the state of the roof, Angel assumed not many people went up there.

He snuffed the end of the cigarette out on the side of the railing, watching the ash rain down on the sidewalk far below. It was weird, seeing this world from so high above - everything was exactly the same, but not. All the buildings looked the same, but the signs for the businesses were slightly different. The demons walking around were familiar, but strangers all the same. It made him feel... out of place. It made him feel like an imposter.

“Angel?” The door pushed open behind him. He didn’t turn to look at Vaggie, but rather pulled out another cigarette and lit it in a single, practice movement. “Husk said he saw you come up here. Is everything alright?”

“A course,” He sighed, offering her a tight, closed-mouth smile. “Just needed some air.”

“You look sad.” She came and stood next to him. They both leaned against the railing in silence for a moment.

“Just thinking.”

“Mm...” She hummed before letting them fall back into a comfortable silence. Angel finished his cigarette far too soon, letting the second butt fall down on to the head of whatever unfortunate demon was walking below them.

“Everything alright with you?” He asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

“Oh! Of course,” She grinned, but he could tell it didn’t reach her eye. “Charlie’s just been really stressed, and I’ve been doing my best to cheer her up but...”

“She isn’t lettin’ ya in all that much recently?” He supplied. She nodded.

“I feel like she’s blocking me out again,” She sighed, her bow drooping a little. “I know it’s just because she’s been trying to figure out what to do with Madam E, but she’s been snapping at everyone more and it’s bringing down the moral of the whole hotel.”

“Just give ‘er some time,” He stretched his top arms, his back cracking loudly. “If she’s anythin’ like my Charlie, she’s gonna throw ‘erself into her work and not blink till it’s done th’ way she wants it done.”

“That’s exactly what she’s like,” Vaggie giggled, her face lighting up. “I still love her, even when she gets so sucked into her work she forgets to eat for a few days.”

“There’s so many things different here, but I’m glad that ain’t onna them.” Angel sighed despite the small smile on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“My Charlie and Vaggie are so disgustingly in love it makes my stomach hurt half the time,” He chuckled, contemplating lighting a third cigarette. “Whenever they’re together, you can practically see ‘em glowin’ and when they’re separated they always talk ‘bout th’ otha. It’s sweet.”

“That sounds perfect,” Vaggie’s voice softened. “Charlie and I fight sometimes, but we always make up in the end, and I think that’s what matters the most.”

Silence stretched again. Angel lit the third cigarette, smoking this one a little slower than the first two. Cars and bikes and pedestrians scurried around below them. Shouts and horns and laughter filling the air as those demons lived their normal, everyday lives as Angel struggled to fit in. He wondered if they knew how lucky they were.

“You look sad too,” Vaggie broke the silence. Angel paused for a beat before tapping the ash off the end of his cigarette. “And your colors are changing. Why is that?”

“Wish I fuckin’ knew,” He scowled. “Niffty pointed it out yesterday. I woke up and it was more of a purple than a teal... I think it’s gonna keep goin’ till it’s back ta my normal pink.”

“Oh wow...” She breathed, turning her one eye to him. “That’s so interesting!”

“Yeah... that’s one way ta say it...” He grumbled, crushing the cigarette between his fingers. With a sigh, he snuffed it out and dropped the half-smoked butt over the edge of the roof.

“Why don’t you sound excited?” She asked, the genuine concern and confusion in her voice made Angel’s heart hurt a little.

“I’m happy ta be gettin’ my color back,” He admitted. “But what if- what if this means I can’t eva get back home? What if this means ya won’t eva be able ta get Anthony back properly?”

“Oh... I hadn’t thought of that...”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re great,” He continued, his eyes burning traitorously. “I ain’t upset cuz I’ll be stuck with ya or anythin’. Any otha situation and stayin’ in this world might be betta than my own, but at th’ same time...”

“It’s not your home.”

“It ain’t my home,” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Sure... here I don’t gotta worry ‘bout being grabbed and raped whenva I leave th’ hotel. I don’t gotta deal with nasty Johns tryin’ ta push their luck. Don’t gotta watch ova my shoulda ta see if my boss is followin’ me. Husk loves ta gives hugs. Ya don’t scream at me fa breathin’ too loud. Charlie is a bit of a bitch sometimes, but we got this... agreed understandin’ between us now. Niffty is startin’ ta warm up ta me, and Al...”

He trailed off. It had been almost a full week since the last time he had seen his Smiles, and he was finding it hard to be in the same room as Blue Al for more than a few minutes - not because Alastor in this world was unfriendly or did things to make Angel uncomfortable, but because he was so vastly different from the Alastor that Angel had begun to feel things for. Al never was one for constant contact, which was something they were both working on for the other’s sake, but this Alastor seemed to always want affection - especially from Angel, it seemed. He was always trying to wrap his arms around Angel’s waist or cuddle up against his side. Each time, Angel tensed and moved away gently, not wanting to upset the deer beyond what seemed to be his natural state of almost crying.

Alastor didn’t seem deterred by this, however. In fact, Angel not giving him outright, violent rejections only seemed to spur him on to try again.

“Well, if it’s any comfort, I’m happy you’re starting to feel more like yourself,” Vaggie said after a few moments. She hadn’t wanted to interrupt Angel, but once he trailed off and got a hazy, far off look on his face, she decided to bring him back to the conversation. “And I don’t think you’ll be stuck here forever! I always believed that everything happened for a reason, so you being here is something that needed to happen for you to be the person you’re destined to be.”

“Huh, that’s a new way a lookin’ at it.” He chuckled lightly.

“When I was alive, my stepfather used to beat me badly,” She said, her voice surprisingly steady for what she was saying. Angel felt his lungs contract as she continued her story. “I used to think I did something to deserve it - that being hit was punishment for some crime I committed without knowing. I graduated highschool, and went off to college and things got better for a little while, but one time I came home for winter break and I just... I couldn’t do it anymore. I found out he had been beating my mom instead of me and I just snapped. I spent all day making this complicated meal, but I made sure to put some of it aside as I went. For his plate, I mixed rat poison in with everything. No one questioned why his dinner was already served when we sat down to eat. He died a day later.”

“Vaggie...” Angel didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what his Vaggie did to end up in Hell, though they joked that her temper was all it took, or that the Angel’s had fucked up and sent her down by accident.

“My mom knew what I had done, but she didn’t say anything,” She continued. “We tried to make things normal again, but there was always this... tension between us. I graduated college at twenty four and went home to pack my things so I could move into the city to get a job in my field... while I was packing, someone broke into the house and shot me. I still have no idea if it really was an accident, or if it was one of my stepfather’s friends who figured it out. Either way, I felt the bullet go into my eye, then I woke up here. I was terrified at first, but Charlie found me. I don’t know why she did, but she took me under her wing. Brought me back to the hotel and gave me a home. Gave me a family... during my life, I thought the beatings were a punishment, but I realized they were what I needed. I needed to be beat so I would kill him so I would end up in Hell, because otherwise I never would have met Charlie. Everything I went through was all so I could find my soulmate, so I’m not angry that I had to endure it anymore.”

“You’re way more optimistic than me.” Angel shook his head lightly. He thought back to his own father, and the vile things he would say to his disappointment of a ‘daughter’. He thought about the men that took advantage of him because he was a gay trans boy in the twenties and was desperate for some validation. He thought of how he turned to drugs to feel something that wasn’t soul crushing pain at all times. Was it worth it? Was what he had now enough to make up for what he went through before?

He didn’t think it was.

“Hey, I was planning on running to the store to get some things to cheer Charlie up,” She turned her smile towards Angel. He didn’t understand how it could still look so... kind.

“Would you want to come with me? We can get you some makeup if you want!”

“That... that sounds great,” Angel swallowed back a sob. “Lemme just throw something else on, aight?”

“Perfect! I’ll meet you down in the lobby.” She grinned and bounced towards the door, leaving Angel alone on the roof. He took a deep breath, still processing what Vaggie had just confided in him.

Would he be that strong, if he went through the same thing? Was he weak, because he wasn’t taking his own trauma as well as she was?

Angel whimpered silently, wrapping his bottom arms around his waist. Hopefully shopping would take him mind off of, well... everything.

* * *

  
“Do-do you hate me that much?” Alastor asked, his words wobbling dangerously. Angel stared at the deer, his eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed.

Angel had been going to the kitchens on a whim. He had been suddenly hit by the urge to cook something - what, he wasn’t sure - but found there was someone already in front of the stove when he arrived.

Alastor was humming softly as he cooked, the sound of sizzling almost covering his tune entirely. He hadn’t noticed Angel walk in until the spider’s shadow fell over him.

“Ah! Angel,” He grinned at the other, his entire being perking up now that Angel was there. “I was wondering when we would have the opportunity to chat!”

“Uh, what’s up Al?” Angel asked, his chest burning with the longing for something else.

“I just...” Alastor frowned, hsi ears pressing flat against his head. “I wanted to get to know you, but you always seem to run from me...”

“I don’t mean ta,” He said honestly. “I just... this is all a lot, ya know?”

“Ah, I understand,” He smiled sadly at whatever he was cooking. “This must be quite a bit to get used to...”

“Whatcha makin?” Angel wanted to change the subject. He didn’t want to talk about how he felt out of place, especially not with Alastor.

“Oh! Just a little lunch,” He chuckled hesitantly. “It’s n-not something most people would like...”

“Which poor fucka did ya catch for this?” Angel asked, peering over Alastor’s shoulder at the pan. It looked like the sort of thing Smiles would make, with lots of spices and tender pieces of meat. “Want me ta put on some rice?”

“You- you aren’t afraid?” Alastor asked, his voice soft with awe and disbelief.

“What? That ya eat people?” Angel scoffed, moving to the other counter and pulling out the rice cooker. He had been mildly surprised to find everything in the exact same places in this kitchen as back home. “Babe, that’s old news. Everyone knows you’re a cannibal.”

“Your Alastor is... that open with it?”

“Huh?” He looked up from the dry rice he was rinsing. “Yeah, Smiles loves ta remind people that he’s a fuckin’ psycho. It’s kinda hot, when he goes on a powa trip.”

“I see...”

“Are ya not out ‘bout that here?” Angel raised an eyebrow in Alastor’s direction.

“Oh no, it’s well known why I’m down here,” Alastor sighed a little. “It’s j-just... not many souls are still friendly with me once they find out.”

“Ain’t like it’s the worst thing someone’s been sent ta Hell for.” Angel just shrugged as he clicked on the rice cooker.

“You’re... so fascinating, Angel.” Alastor breathed, turning off the stovetop and stepping right up to the spider, all but pinning him against the counter. Angel blinked, trying to take a step back only to find himself trapped.

“Uh, Al-” He chuckled awkwardly, trying to sidle out of their current position.

“I used to- to lure people in, you know,” Al said, clasping his hands together and looking up at Angel with wide, almost crazed eyes. “Made them think I was weak and helpless. I used to love feeling the power that came with it. They would take care of me, all the while I was planning their demise! Only a handful of times did they catch onto what I was doing... those were the worst, because I couldn’t play with them...”

Angel was conflicted. On one hand, Alastor was obviously different from Smiles, seeming more unhinged than his Radio Demon ever was. He was crazed, craving the chaos of the power disconnect and the game before the killing. It almost scared Angel, because at least his Al had faint morals, but it seemed this Al had completely different motives for being a cannibalistic serial killer. On the other hand, Angel’s body seemed to call out to Al. He was so close, and he had the same warm, spiced smell that Angel’s Al did. Angel wanted to wrap his arms around the deer and bury his face in Al’s neck and pretend things were normal, just for a moment.

But he couldn’t, because this wasn’t HIS Alastor.

“But you’re different,” Alastor continued, not noticing Angel’s inner conflict. “Even the others are hesitant around me, but you... you fascinate me.”

“Look, Al-”

“I want you,” Al’s voice dropped to a thick whisper. Angel felt a shiver go down the length of his spine as Al took another half step forward. “I want to see what it takes to make you unravel... oh how entertaining it would be, to see you coming apart, just for me-”

Angel didn’t think. He shoved Al back, dashing to the other side of the kitchen before the deer could gather his footing. They just stared at each other in silence for several moment, and just before Angel was about to say ‘fuck it’ and duck from the kitchen entirely, Alastor did something the spider was not expecting.

Soft sniffles filled the air as blue tinted tears began to run down his cheeks. His shoulders hunched even more and he wiped at his face with the heel of his palms. Angel stood frozen, not knowing what to make of Alastor crying. His Alastor only cried once, and they were angry, frustrated tears when he recalled how powerless he felt to save his mother from his father’s wrath.

The soft sniffles turned into near silent hiccups as Alastor cried harder.

“Do- do you really hate me that much?” He asked, his voice cracking painfully. Angel felt his mouth drop open in pure shock.

“What- I don’t hate ya-”

“Then why do you k-keep pushing me away?” He shot back, the tears beginning to leave dark splotches on the hems of his jacket sleeves. “I d-don’t get it... you love your Alastor, but you hate me?”

“It’s more complicated than that-”

“I j-just don’t get it,” He continued, his face twisting up. “Are we really that different?”

“I mean, a course you’re different,” Angel started. “All a you are different. Hell, even I’m different, but... but that don’t mean I hate ya. Th’ thing is... when I left, Al and I were just gettin our shit together. I’m not even entirely sure what we’d call what we have in th’ first place...”

“Are you worried you’ll be unfaithful?” Alastor asked, his tears beginning to slow.

“Partly, yeah,” Angel took a breath. “Al’s th’ first fella that didn’t wanna use me fa sex. Ya gotta imagine how impossible that is for me ta believe.”

“Angel, I’m sorry you’ve been treated that way,” Alastor stepped towards Angel, taking that the spider didn’t flinch away as a good sign. “No one deserves to feel as though they’re not worthy of love.”

“I just... I guess I’m scared that if I start ta think a me and Smiles as a thing of th’ past, it’ll... I dunno, solidify th’ fact that I might be stuck ‘ere for the rest a my eternity, with no way ta get home again.”

“If your Alastor cared for you at all, he’d want you to be happy.” Al said, almost hesitantly.

“I guess, I just-” Angel cut himself off, surprised by the hands suddenly cupping his face.

“Allow yourself some happiness, my dear,” Alastor didn’t sound like he was trying to trick Angel into pitying him. In fact, he sounded completely serious, and that’s what scared Angel the most. “Even if you are able to return home, you shouldn’t deny yourself what little comfort you can have.”

“What if he hates me?” Angel found himself asking. He hadn’t even realized that had been a concern until it was spoken out loud, but now that was all he could think about.

“Darling, I understand that he and I are different,” Al’s thumb stroked under Angel’s eye, gently caressing the dots that colored his fur. He leaned in just the slightest bit. “But I doubt we’re so different that he would hate you for trying to make this situation more bearable.”

“But-”

“Do you wish for me to stop?” Alastor paused, looking Angel directly in the eye. His ears pressed back down, which Angel took as a sign of sincerity.

Angel thought about it. If he managed to make it back, his relationship with Alastor was rocky at best. After all of this, Angel wasn’t even sure if there would be a relationship to go back to, especially after that last fight. He wondered if he and Alastor were even a good match to begin with...

On the other hand, he may be stuck in this Blue world forever. He might never make it home, and he would have to make a new life with these strangely familiar demons. He would... have all the validation and affection he could want. Between Vaggie and Husk, he’d be complimented and he would know they really meant it. He and Charlie would have fun bickering, their mutual understanding maybe even growing into friendship. He and Niffty could find common ground. He and Alastor could have a relationship where Angel felt seen and loved properly.

Here, Alastor might finally convince Angel that he wasn’t a worthless slut.

“What if it all goes wrong, Al?” Angel whispered, his voice shaking.

“In what way?” Alastor’s words were close enough to be felt on Angel’s fur.

“I’m don’t even fuckin’ know,” He closed his eyes. “I just... I’m scared ta get comfortable ‘ere. What if it all blows th’ fuck up?”

“Then you’ll have us to back you up,” Alastor said, the hand on Angel’s cheek slowly inching around to cup the back of the spider’s head. Angel found himself leaning down slightly so he could nuzzle his cheek against Al’s other hand. “Allow yourself some happiness, cher. You deserve it.”

Angel let out a choked chuckle. He wanted to be happy, he really did, but he was scared - his entire existence has been one mistake after another. One moment of bliss followed by eons of agony. He could hold on hope of going home or...

Or he could let go. He could let himself fall into this world and see where he lands.

Angel closed his eyes and leaned forward, kissing Alastor gently. Alastor’s claws carefully laced through the fur on the back of his head as he kissed Angel back.

He made his decision, but now he wondered how long it would take before it exploded in his face again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! This chapter was a little weird to write because I'm still trying to figure out who the 2P cast is to me and to the story. I know it's all speculation on my part, because the 2P tags only give me so much on their personalities and how they would interact with each other. Is it really my fic if I don't dedicate an entire chapter to analyzing two character's relationship in controlled scenes? XD 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! I'm honestly lowkey blown away by how many people commented about how interested they were in the universe! I figured it would just be a fun project for myself, but I'm beyond thrilled that others are having just as much fun with this as I am :D


	4. Revelations and Contemplations

“What th-” Angel frowned, looking down at himself. His jacket, which once fit perfectly, was now... the slightest bit tight? He glanced up at the mirror and furrowed his brows, trying to think of what could be going on.

After his trip with Vaggie, he managed to get a little makeup for his new stash.

Sure it wasn’t as expansive as his one back in his world, but he had a nice eyeshadow pallet of his favorite shades, some eyeliner, blush, mascara and fake lashes - nothing fancy, but enough to make him feel more like himself. It wasn’t, however, the makeup that had been the only change he had seen. His fur, once a dark teal, was now a light purple. It had been changing more and more each day, and he was pretty sure it would stop only once he was back to his original pink shades.

Fully well knowing that his coloring was going back to normal, Angel wondered if the tightness in his suit jacket was something similar. Undoing the first few buttons of his dress shirt, he cupped his chest with his top pair of hands, squeezing lightly.

His eyes widened. There was a layer of softness that hadn’t been there before.

“So my tits are growin’ back?” Angel scoffed out a chuckle, shaking his head a little. “I ain’t even surprised anymore.”

Was he upset? He wasn’t sure. Like with his cunt, he wasn’t sure how he felt about his tits coming back. He had finally been comfortable with his body, tits and all, but since coming to the blue world he had to completely relearn what he looked like. Two weeks later and he still was thrown off when he could sleep on his stomach without needing to hold a pillow, or how flat he looked once his shirts were buttoned. Having that faint plumpness back was almost... relieving, because it showed that he really was still Angel Dust - it proved he wasn’t losing himself to his new universe.

On the other hand, it meant Anthony was disappearing. Angel had no way of knowing if their Anthony had gone to Angel’s world, or if he had vanished entirely. He didn’t know what would happen if he ever made it back home, or if he was trapped there for the rest of time. There was so much about this situation that he still didn’t understand, and it was starting to take its toll on his sleep and appetite.

Angel poked his cheeks, pulling a smile up. For a moment, it looked pained but after some working on it, it looked natural again. It looked real, even if the face smiling back at him through the mirror wasn’t quite his.

“Good morning!” Vaggie called over happily as Angel made his way into the dining room.

“Did you sleep well?” Husk asked, the fur on the right side of his face slightly squashed from how he pressed his cheek into his pillow. He seemed somewhat subdued, even more so than his normal morning sleepiness.

“A’ course,” Angel lied with his practiced grin. “Slept like a baby.”

“Mm, that’s good,” He yawned wide, his sharp fangs glinting in the light. “Can I...?”

“Sure Husker.” Angel’s grin softened. He knew what the cat was asking, and he was more than fine with it. Husk hummed happily and bounced over to where

Angel was sitting and crawled into the spider’s lap, resting his chin on Angel’s shoulder. Instantly he started purring happily as Angel’s bottom set of arms wrapped around his waist. Husk adored cuddling, and was particularly touchy when he was tired or upset. He realized Angel was the perfect cuddle buddy because with two extra pairs of arms, he wouldn’t be burdened by holding the cat and would still be able to do things while continuously petting Husk.

“If you keep indulging him, he’ll never stop.” Charlie rolled her eyes when she entered the dining room to see the pile of pastel fur in Angel’s lap.

“I don’t mind,” One of his hands absentmindedly carded through Husk’s fur. The purring only got louder as Husk snuggled his face more into Angel’s neck.

“It’s kinda nice ta get some affection without needin’ ta put out afta.”

No one knew what to say to that. It seemed that they were still getting used to the idea that he was a sex worker - or rather, the gritty reality that is the life of a sex worker. Husk’s purring hiccuped for a moment before he held Angel closer. Angel actually loved it when Husk did this, because it made him feel warm and grounded. No more spacing out or wondering if he really existed, or if his entire being is just a figment of someone else’s imagination. No, he was just Angel and he was able to think and exist. He was real.

“Husky, you gotta eat breakfast.” Angel said after almost half an hour. The others were all finishing up, but he still had a fair amount of food on his plate. He was never that hungry in the morning, despite Vaggie and Husk’s urgings to eat more.

“Not hungry...” Husk muttered, his body trying to curl in smaller against Angel’s chest.

“Ya sick?” Angel asked, petting Husk gently.

“Nah...”

“Uh, sometimes he gets depressed when he remembers things from his life,” Vaggie chimed in softly. “He’ll randomly get flashbacks and they make it hard for him to focus.”

“Ah, my Husk gets those too,” He said, more to Husk than the others. “We useta call it bein’ Shell Shocked, but Vaggie says th’ new term is post traumatic stress disorda. It throws ya mind back ta whateva fucked ya ova and makes ya relive it ova and ova again...”

He trailed off, remembering the first time he had experienced a flashback. Charlie had tried to get his attention and grabbed him by the wrist. He instantly panicked, not seeing his friend holding him but rather Valentino.

It had taken Husk almost two hours to get him to come back to reality again.

“Wanna go take a nap?” Angel tried. Husk hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“I’ll make put aside some food for you guys for later,” Vaggie offered. “Come down and get it whenever you feel up to it.”

“Thanks Vags.” Angel smiled at her as he and Husk left the dining room.

As they climbed up to Angel’s room, he realized that Alastor had been missing from the dining room again that morning.

Ever since the meeting in the kitchen, Alastor had been scarce. Angel was almost convinced that it wasn’t on purpose, because Charlie had also been so busy she would only show her face once a day around dinnertime - If they were lucky, she’d pop in for breakfast to grab some coffee, like she had that morning - but a small part of him was almost scared that Al had considered kissing Angel a mistake, and that’s why he was avoiding him.

He was conflicted about Alastor. It seemed there was a lot he was conflicted about, and it was starting to irritate him. When he was under Valentino, all he had to focus on was keeping himself high and loose. He didn’t have to think about anything.

He had enjoyed kissing Alastor in the kitchen - maybe a little too much. Al had been kissing him in a way that screamed attraction and enthusiasm. Angel couldn’t remember the last time someone was that happy to be kissing him - at least, someone that wasn’t paying him. He wanted to see what else this Alastor could make him feel. He wondered if this Al could make him forget about his situation, even if for just a night.

Husk crawled into Angel’s bed, shoving his face into one of the pillows. Angel curled around him, pulling him close and using all four arms to hold him firmly. He remembered the first time Husk had come to nap with him.

Apparently Anthony had been adamant that no one enter his room except for Niffty, who tidied up once a week.

As he drifted off into a half-sleep, his mind being calmed by the rhythmic purring that shook his entire body, Angel wondered how much different his life would be if he had been sent to this Blue World right from the start. If he had never known his original world. If he had been given this sort of affection right off the bat. Maybe he wouldn’t have fallen for Val’s double sided promises.

Maybe he would be more like Anthony and less like Angel.

He had no way of knowing, but he couldn’t help but wonder, even as he drifted off into a light sleep.

* * *

Angel was shaken from his task by the feeling of the hotel shaking faintly. He glanced over to Niffty, who had been busy kneading dough for bread. Angel had been slicing vegetables to be added to that night’s dinner, but he froze with his knife still in the air.

“Th’ fuck was that?” He asked when another round of tremor wracked the kitchen.

“It’s probably that bitch again...” She muttered, her face tightening.

“Madam E?” Angel still didn’t know who that was, but after seeing how the others reacted to his questions, he stopped asking.

“No, her damn lackey,” Niffty scowled as the hotel shook for the third time. Whatever it was, it was getting closer because the shaking was getting stronger and stronger. “She thinks she can do whatever she wants because no one’s brave enough to touch her. She’s not even all that strong herself, but Madam E would eviscerate anyone who tries to touch Cherri.”

“Wh-what?” The knife clattered onto the floor noisily, only just barely managing to avoid sticking blade down into the top of Angel’s foot. Niffty said something else, but the roaring in his head blocked it all out.  
Had she said... Cherri? As in Cherri Bomb? As in his best friend? His ride-or-die? The one fucker in the entirety of Hell he would trust his life with?

That Cherri?

“Angel? Are you alright?” Alastor placed a hand on Angel’s arm, breaking the spider from his thoughts.

“I gotta-” He darted from the kitchen, leaving Alastor and Niffty staring after him. His long legs propelled him faster and faster, barreling out the front doors of the hotel before anyone could even realize what he was doing.

Another explosion, this one sounding as though it came from only a few blocks away.

“Th’ fuck’ve you done?” He whispered, running faster. The explosions felt heavier than what his Cherri would use on a normal day. Cherri’s bombs were smaller but more dramatic, putting off colored smoke just for the flare of it, but these sounded almost clinical - like she wanted to make a point and leave.

“Angel NO-” Arms wrapped around his waist just as he was about to turn the corner of a large building. He could feel Alastor panting - out of breath from chasing after Angel - into his shirt, his hot breath hitting between his top set of shoulder blades coming in short bursts. “She’ll k-kill you.”

Angel strained to look but didn’t try to push Alastor away. He felt his knees give out when he saw the source of the explosions. He fell to his knees, dragging Al down with him as Cherri lit another bomb and threw it into the broken window of some poor shop.

She was nothing like the Cherri he knew. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, with only two thin pieces free to frame her face, her wild mane nowhere to be seen. She was wearing a fitted suit, complete with dress shoes and blazer, and had ammunition belts making an X across her chest with a third strapped around her waist. She walked with a purpose, her head held high and her shoulders back, no bounce to her step at all.

The worst part was her expression. Her dark makeup was gone, leaving her skin free of any extra color - Angel noted how pale and withdrawn she looked. Even her freckles were gone, as if she purposely removed everything from her skin. Her one eye stared emotionlessly at a demon that was writhing by her feet. Angel watched as her lip curled into a sneer, pulled a small gun out and shot it in the face.

She looked around at the damage she had caused with a bored expression, her face relaxed and almost calm. Disinterested. Angel thought the most alien part of it all was seeing her without her sharp, shit-eating grin. It made her face look smaller.

Alastor managed to tug them back behind the corner of the building, out of sight of the rampage going on down the street. Angel hadn’t realized he started crying until he felt the dampness of Alastor’s shoulder.

“Ch-Cherri...” He whimpered, missing his best friend more than ever. Her absence had been something that he was reminded of whenever he was alone, but when he was with the others he was to focused on figuring out what the fuck was going on to think too much about it.

A few times he had been tempted to call her, if not just to hear her voicemail, but he doubted her number would be the same here, seeing how it would be Anthony’s phone he would be using.

But now he missed her so badly he felt like something was ripping his chest open - like something was reaching into his ribs and gripping his heart with their bare hand. He sobbed, his screams muffled enough that she wouldn’t have been able to hear over the explosions and crumbling rocks.

Angel felt himself being cradled gently, and the next thing he knew the explosions were in the distance again. Voices called to him, but he was too focused on mourning the loss of the one person that wasn’t blood related - dead or alive - he could depend on unconditionally. The one person he considered his sister, despite everything.

The hotel may be better here, but he didn’t have Cherri. He didn’t have his best friend. In fact, she was working for the strongest overlord in all of Hell. She was cold, and emotionless and clinical in her destruction. He felt his stomach roll as he remembered the bored look on her face as she lit another bomb.

He couldn’t remember a single moment that his Cherri looked like that. His Cherri was one of the most expressive people he had ever met. Every moment of every day she had some expression painted on. Even in her sleep she was smirking or frowning. Even when she was crying, she was bursting with emotion. She was never that lifeless.

“It’s alright, my dear,” Alastor whispered, holding Angel’s head against his chest. “She won’t harm you.”

“I w-wanna...” He whimpered.

“Want what, love?”

“I wanna GO HOME-” He all but screamed, his body wracked with violent sobs.

He just wanted to be home. He wanted Charlie’s painful optimism and he wanted Vaggie’s bitchy attitude and he wanted Huck’s rough but empty threats. He wanted Niffty to sit on his shoulders while she cleaned, chattering on about something. He wanted Alastor to sit next to him on the couch, not quite close enough to be touching but close enough to feel the deer’s warmth through his clothes. He wanted to do facemasks with Cherri, and to blow up Sir Pentious’ airship, and cry into her shoulder as she threatened to beat people up for him. He wanted his home back, but it was gone.

Maybe forever.

“I just want my family back...” His words were warped by the tears, but everyone heard him clear as day. They all froze, but Angel didn’t notice. He curled into Alastor’s arms more, wanting to disappear forever, or at least a few hours.

“I’ll take him to his room.” Alastor said, standing and picking Angel up along with him.

“I’ll send some water and painkillers up later,” Husk was openly crying as well.

“He’ll probably have a headache after this.”

It felt like Angel’s head was full of cotton. He could barely even hear his own pathetic sniffles as his sobs began to taper off in exhaustion. His eyes, sore and damp, fluttered shut of their own volition, and Angel allowed himself to succumb to the kind nothingness of sleep.

* * *

“Are you awake?” Alastor asked softly. Angel considered keeping his breathing as even as possible in an attempt to pretend to still be sleeping, but the ache behind his forehead was too much to handle on his own. He groaned and rolled over, cracking an eye open to see Al sitting on the edge of his bed, an openly concerned look on his face.

“Head hurts...” He muttered, pulling the blanket up to block the light out.

“Husk brought painkillers,” Alastor stood, the bed lifting once his weight was gone. “Sit up, okay?”

He did as he was told, sitting up in the bed and letting the blanket pool around his waist before reaching out for the glass of water and little orange pills in Alastor’s hand. He downed the pills in a single go and drained the water, his dry mouth instantly feeling better.

“How are you feeling?” Al asked, as if talking to an injured animal.

“Betta,” He sighed, handing the glass back. “Sorry...”

“N-no need to apologize,” Alastor’s shoulders hunch a little. He fiddled with the hems of the sleeves, his ears twitching as if they wanted to press down but he was doing his best to seem calm. “Are you- why did... what happened?”

He finally looked at Angel, their eyes meeting. Angel felt his heart jump a little - he hadn’t realized how large and bright Alastor’s eyes were. The blue was almost soothing and the faint glassiness made him seem... reachable. He wasn’t like Angel’s Alastor, who was completely untouchable.

“Cherri’s my best friend,” He said, drawing his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, hoping for a little comfort. “My ride-or-die... she’s th’ one that’s always right at my side when I need her...”

“Seeing our Cherri must have been a lot then...” Alastor whispered, looking away as if he couldn’t stand to see the pain in Angel’s face.

“I don’t know... She’s just so different,” He felt his eyes sting again. “I guess I was so focused on all of ya here in th’ hotel that I didn’t think about how fucked up everyone else would be.”

“It’s alright,” Alastor hesitated for a moment before scooting up on the bed and sitting closer to Angel, letting their thighs press together. “We’ll figure out a way to make this whole thing work.”

“I just... I miss home...”

“I understand that,” He gave the blankets a small, almost sad smile. “No matter how many years pass, I’ll never not be homesick for my childhood.”

“Tell me about it?” Angel didn’t want to think. He wanted Alastor to fill the room with something other than oppressive silence that was weighing down on him.

“I grew up in the South,” Alastor started. Angel had barely noticed the fact that he had a faint static behind his voice until it was gone. Without the gentle feedback, Al’s voice was softer and almost delicate sounding. He had the same accent that Smiles did, but whereas Angel’s Al made it sound suave and almost seductive, this Alastor sounded young and almost scared. It made Angel want to protect him. “My Mama was a kind soul, but everyone took advantage of her. We never had much, but we made do. I learned early on that a pathetic child tugs on the heartstrings of adults, so I played up the fact that I was very quiet and anxious. Even in my teenage years I was a small, thin boy, so I was able to bring home pocket change and food scraps...”

Angel listened, trying to picture what Alastor was saying. He knew a little about his Al’s life, and he was almost surprised to hear they were more similar than one would think. He was once again caught off guard by how similar everyone in the hotel was to their counterparts. It made him feel... comforted, almost. At least something was familiar amongst this nightmare.

“The first person I killed was my Father. He never laid a hand on us, but he would scream at us and manipulate our emotions. He would gaslight us and made me think our financial situation was my fault for existing... for costing so much to raise,” Alastor sighed, leaning into Angel’s side more. “One night I just... snapped. My Mama went out for work and to lure my father out back I pretended to cry. I knew he hated it when I cried because he said I sounded pathetic. He came out to yell at me, but before he had the chance to even open his mouth I slit his throat. It was simple to throw the body into the pigpen and clean the blood from my clothes. I watched the hogs consume his body within minutes, and it gave me an idea... after that, I was too curious to ignore my thoughts, so after my Mama passed and I was alone at the house, I would lure people who wanted to take care of me back to my home and I would kill them. I realized quickly that the hogs had the right idea... humans were plentiful and meaty. I never went hungry again... until I was caught, that is.”

“Thank you.” Angel whispered after a beat of silence.

“Of course, mon ange.”

“Ya know... my Al useta call me names like that,” Angel continued. “Neva knew what they meant, and he would neva tell me.”

“Mon ange means my Angel,” Alastor leaned in close to Angel’s face, his lips almost brushing the corner of the spider’s mouth. “Mon Cher, my dear. Mon amour, my love... isn’t French a beautiful language?”

“I-is that what is it?” Angel’s voice cracked, his heart beating a little faster than normal.

“Mm, truly the best way to express affection, in my opinion.” Alastor smiled and looked up at Angel, allowing Angel’s height to make him seem even smaller. There was something about the way Alastor seemed to be crawling up Angel’s body, his hands on either side of the spider’s small waist, that made Angel’s brain short circuit.

“Al...”

“Do you wish for me to stop?” Alastor swung one leg over Angel’s hip, kneeling on either side of his lap and placing one hand on Angel’s shoulder. Angel hesitated for a moment. He probably shouldn’t, but fuck did it feel good to have a warm body so close to his again.

“No.” He whispered, eyes bright. Alastor’s smile sharpened as he kissed Angel.  
Angel eagerly kissed back, his bottom set of arms reaching out to wrap around Al. It was as good as he remembered from the day in the kitchen, Alastor’s mouth moving to meet his with an excitement Angel wasn’t used to.

He moaned softly when Alastor bit his lip, a shot of lighting going down his spine when he felt Alastor lapping at the cut, tasting the blood in Angel’s mouth. He pulled back for just a second and smiled at Angel, showing the slight red tinge against his sharp teeth.

“Fuck-” Angel’s hips twitched, grinding up into Alastor’s. The deer’s eyes widened for a moment, as if caught off guard, before he flushed and leaned back in. Angel let his mouth fall open, allowing Al to taste him.

“Please, mon ange,” Alastor moaned against Angel’s lips. “Please.”

“Yes.” Angel didn’t know much, but he did know that he needed this. He needed to feel wanted. To feel loved, even if it wasn’t real.

He just needed to feel.

Alastor’s hands wandered along Angel’s body, claws carding through silk soft fur and popping buttons to discard their clothing, and Angel let him.

Angel sleepily curled into Alastor’s warmth. It had been a long time since someone had fucked him to the point of almost passing out immediately after, but he only just managed to make it to the bathroom to clean up before collapsing back into bed. He felt Alastor tug the blanket up over his shoulder, an arm wrapping around his waist and pulling Angel’s body on Al’s chest, allowing Angel to hear the other’s heartbeat clearly.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so... safe. Safe, but vulnerable.

He wondered for a moment if he had EVER felt like this before. During his life, he had to sneak out after a hookup, covering his trail so no one would ever find out. With Val, he was either shuffled from one partner to another without much of a chance to recover, or he was so zooted out of his mind that he didn’t even know where he was after finishing a scene.

But with Alastor, he felt safe. Protected. He knew how strong Al was - he knew Alastor could end his existence without breaking much of a sweat, but he chose not to. He chose to wrap his arms around Angel and cover his bare fur with the blanket so he wouldn’t catch a chill after fucking him so well he saw stars.

A thought flitted through Angel’s mind that made his stomach sour for a moment. Was Al just doing this to entertain himself? He had admitted to acting pathetic and weak to lure people to their doom. He could have easily manipulated Angel to get what he wanted, which was someone to warm his bed for a night - or many.

Angel’s Alastor did anything he wanted for the sake of entertainment, so why would this world’s Al be any different?

But there was something about the way he held Angel - the way Al kissed the places where his fangs dug in too deep and the way Al ran his hands along Angel’s body as if he were the most important thing in the world and the way Al held him close, shuddering and moaning into his throat as he came into Angel’s body - that made him think that there had to be some honesty to it all.

His throat stung. Alastor was so warm and smelled so nice. Angel found himself relaxing despite the chaos running through his mind. Would things have been different if his Al had been more similar to this Al? If his Smiles was a little touchier, or a little softer, would things have turned out this way? If he could change his Alastor to fit his own needs better, Angel would just have to look at the Alastor holding him for the perfect blueprint-

His eyes flew open, but he was greeted by nothing but the darkness of the room. No, as much as he was enjoying this - sleeping with this world’s Alastor and being held after and feeling like something worthy of love - he would never want to actually change his Alastor. His Al was kind of creepy and a bit of a sadistic bastard, but Angel knew what he looked like when his smile was genuine. Angel had seen Al dancing to the music from his life. He had heard Al’s natural voice, no feedback whatsoever to mask his accent. He had tasted Al’s cooking, when he made dishes straight from his Mama’s recipes.

He and Alastor had their differences, but he wouldn’t want to erase the demon he had come to feel so fond of. He wouldn’t want to replace him with Blue Al.

Angel closed his eyes, forcing the tears to stay in place. He sighed and curled into Al’s chest, his breath ghosting against the deer’s bare throat. He missed Al, but he decided to be selfish for the first time in his life and decided to allow himself this little bit of happiness, because he had no idea how long it would last. He could appear back home tomorrow, but until then he was going to soak in the warmth, and the softness, and the grounding that Alastor brought his racing thoughts.

Angel fell asleep, and for once he didn’t feel alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say for this chapter! I've been double checking my plot outline, and I'm starting to get extra pumped for some of the upcoming chapters! The next on in particular is going to be fun because that's when things really start to get interesting :D


	5. Help in Unusual Places

“Hey Slut.” Charlie called over to Angel, who simply raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah Bitch?” He knew she wasn’t truly being facetious, but he was a little too tired to play along perfectly. He had woken up to an empty bed, but the blankets were still faintly warm and smelled like spices, which meant Alastor had only woken up a short while before he himself had.

“You look less shitty.” She looked him up and down, a strange set to her mouth.

“Feel less shitty.” He admitted. He was almost shocked - was Charlie worried about him?

“Whatever,” She scoffed, but there was a visible release of tension in her shoulders. “Fuckin’ Husk kept moping about it. I couldn’t listen to him whining for another fucking minute.”

“Pft, whateva,” He shook his head a little. “Ya suck at hidin’ ya feelin’s Toots.”

“The fuck does that mean?” She scowled, narrowing her eyes at him. Angel just smirked tiredly.

“It means whateva ya want it ta mean,” He stuck his tongue out and turned to walk towards the kitchen, needing coffee if he was going to make it through the day, before pausing and turning back. “Have ya seen Al anywhere?”

“He stopped by my office to grab some papers that needed to be filled out and went up to the roof,” She rolled her eyes. “Even though he fucking disappeared after your little episode last night, I’m just glad he’s getting his shit done now. If he put it off any more I’d skin him.”

“Ah...” His fur bristled when he thought back to the night before. “Bout that-”

“I don’t want to know,” She cut him off. If he didn’t know any better, he would say her cheeks were flushing. “One last thing.”

“Yeah?”

“If you’re gonna be a screamer, put music on next time.” She turned and walked away, her hair swaying in time with her steps. It took Angel a moment to realize what she meant, and when it clicked his fur puffed out even more. He was sure he looked like a cotton ball as he quickly dashed towards the kitchen.

He focused on making himself coffee to take his mind off the fact that everyone must have heard Alastor fucking him so wonderfully last night. He wondered if Charlie was the only one, but knowing his luck it was everyone else as well.

He ran a hand down his face as he poured an obscene amount of cream and sugar into his mug. He deserved it.

Taking his mug in one hand, Angel snagged a muffin from the counter and made his way up to the roof. He knew Al would be working, but he didn’t want to be alone and the roof - regardless of if Alastor was there or not - he felt at ease up there.

Pushing the door open, he saw Al sitting at a desk that he must have summoned. He was writing elegantly, not having heard Angel step onto the roof patio. Angel silently padded over and sat on the edge of the desk, watching the pentagram lighten as Hell began to wake up for the day. He sipped his coffee, listening to Al flip through papers.

It was nice, not needing to fill the silence with chatter. Soothing, even, to sit so comfortably and watch the fake sunrise. Maybe he’ll do this more often, if he’s awake early enough.

“Did you sleep well, mon cher?” Alastor broke the silence once Angel was about halfway through his coffee.

“Yeah, woke up feelin’ pretty good actually,” Angel glanced at Alastor, keeping his head turned towards the cityline. “Wonda who could’ve helped with that.”

Alastor’s pen froze as his cheeks flushed faintly. He coughed lightly before continuing his paperwork, but Angel could see the satisfied upturn of his lips.

“You look more like yourself, at least,” He said, only after clearing his throat. “Brighter.”

“I guess I just needed a good fuckin’ and a few hours a’ sleep,” By then the sky was completely lit, the city beginning to bustle on below them. “Wish I had some booze, but Husky’d know I’m trynna forget and’ll get mad at me again.”

“Angel, are you sure you are alright?” Alastor put his pen down. “After last night... You scared me greatly, my dear. I was... worried that I would not make it to you in time and you would try to confront Cherri Bomb all on your own.”

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Angel cradled his coffee mug. There was only a sip or two left in the bottom, but it was cold and he wasn’t feeling up to trying to choke it down. “I honestly don’t know what I would’ve even said ta her. Not like she’d know me...”

Alastor coughed, but Angel paid it no mind. He placed the mug onto the desk and braced himself to jump off, but before he could, he found Alastor standing directly in front of him, his waist cradled by Angel’s thighs. Alastor wrapped his arms around Angel’s middle and rested his chin on the spider’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you came to find me,” He sighed, leaning into Angel. “It was quite lonely up here all on my own.”

“That’s why I come up ‘ere normally,” Angel chuckled faintly. “Sometimes ya just need a minute ta clear ya head without worryin’ ‘bout people botherin’ ya.”

“Well, you’re never a bother.”

“Did ya know I used ta be a singa?” Angel asked softly.

“I bet you were a wonderful performer, mon ange.” Alastor leaned back to look at Angel properly. Angel’s heart fluttered when he realized Al was genuinely interested in what he was saying.

“I had a whole routine I used to do, complete with song sets and costuming,” Angel recalled the last few years of his life fondly. Dressed up, no one noticed how Angel Dust the singer shared the same eyes and curl of the lip of the Mafioso’s daughter. It was the one time he was able to feel like himself. “Then I got inta porn, and they stopped carin’ that I could sing ‘n dance. All they cared about was how I could arch my back and moan like a whore...”

“Do you still sing?”

“Nah, not for othas at least,” Angel smiled sadly. “Mostly just ta myself when I’m workin’ on shit.”

“Could I request a song?” Alastor asked, taking one of Angel’s hands and lacing their fingers together. Angel almost pulled away, so used to his Al refusing to hold his hand, but stopped himself. He wanted to hold Al’s hand. He wanted that innocent contact.

“I suppose I could make an exception fa ya.” Angel chuckled. Alastor grinned, his eyes shining brightly.

“I’m honored.” He kissed the back of Angel’s hand.

“Any requests?”

“Anything you’d like to sing for me.” Alastor nuzzled under Angel’s jaw with his nose.

“Anythin’ huh?” He hummed, thinking through his list of songs he still remembered. His chest constricted when he remembered a song that he himself had written, back before he had died. He had written it to vent his emotions, seeing how this was before he even came out to his sister that he wasn’t a girl. It took him a moment to recall it, seeing how it had been over seventy years since he had last sung it, but once he caught the tune it was as if he had never forgotten it.

He started off softly, as if he was afraid of being heard. The melody tasted different, the words forming strangely around his fangs. It was almost foreign despite how familiar the lyrics were to him. He stumbled over himself when he made the realization. The song, once a reflection of the deepest, darkest parts of his soul, was now almost alien to him - just as the people he had come to care for were almost alien to him.

The song got stronger as he got more into it, letting his eyes fall shut as he swayed gently where he sat. He could feel Alastor pressing kisses along his neck, but not in a lustful way. Rather, the kisses felt gentle, chaste almost. Comforting, as though he were simply reminding Angel that he wasn’t alone.

By the time the last word tapered off, Angel found his throat was tight and his eyes stung painfully. He wanted to cry, but he wasn’t sure why.

“Magnifique, mon amour.” Alastor breathed. Angel could feel Al’s heartbeat through where their chests were pressed together.

“Th-thanks,” He stuttered. He didn’t think he would ever get used to genuine compliments like that. “It’s... an old song.”

“I could tell how important it must be to you,” Alastor kissed the corner of his mouth. “The emotions were so clear.”

“Now you’re just trynna flatta me,” Angel laughed with a roll of his eyes. “If ya wanted ta get summa this, ya just gotta ask.” He used two of his hands to press his chest fluff together, his tits starting to become more familiar to him once again. “Though you’d be an expectation hot stuff. Just show up wheneva and I’m all yours.”

“Did your Alastor get such a privilege?” Alastor asked, his cheeks flushing. Angel could feel his hands trembling faintly as they held the spider carefully.

“Nah,” Angel said automatically before correcting himself. “I mean, I tried ta let ‘im know but he neva took me up on it. I woulda liked if he came ta my room even one time but he neva did.”

“You never slept together?” Alastor sounded genuinely shocked.

“You’re so cute,” Angel chuckled again. “Nah we neva fucked. Closest we got was a lil bit a’ kissin’ and even that was cut short cuz he started ta get uncomfortable.”

“Does he not enjoy your body?” He looked angry for a moment. Andel’s chest warmed at the realization that Al was upset on Angel’s behalf.

“I don’t think that was it, honestly,” He shrugged a little. “Was more that he didn’t like bein’ touched at all. I neva pushed him, ‘n I was happy when he let me hold his hand or sit close ta him on th’ couch. I knew he was workin’ past his own things, so it made me real happy that he was tryin’ fa me...”

“He should have tried harder,” Al’s voice was bitter. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have lost you.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Angel took his hand back, a small frown on his face. “He was tryin’ real hard for me, ‘n I’m really proud a him for it...”

He trailed off, realizing he was speaking of Al in the past tense. His stomach sank a little at how easily he slipped into it - how easy it was for Angel to consider his real life as something of the past.

“I’ve managed to finish most of my work,” Alastor said casually. “Would you wish to spend some more time with me?”

“Yeah, that’ll be fun.” Angel smiled, pushing down the discomfort from his realization.

“Would you like to move somewhere else?”

“I dunno,” Angel drummed his fingers on top of the desk. “It’d be a shame ta ignore such a nice desk. ‘Specially when it’s got such a nice view...”

Alastor’s grin turned predatory. With a snap of his fingers, a black tentacle grew from the shadows and blocked the door, locking them onto the roof but locking everyone else out. No one would bother them until the tentacle was gone. Angel’s own grin widened.

He hoped Charlie didn’t notice how wrinkled her papers were.

* * *

Angel laughed loudly, his head thrown back as Husk continued to silently mime whatever it was he was trying to say. When Vaggie had suggested charades, Angel had been skeptical at best. Game nights almost never ended well back home, so he wasn’t sure how they would play out here. Turns out, game nights here were a blast. He, Al, and Husk were on one team while Vaggie, Charlie and Niffty on the other. It was pretty evenly matched.

“Uh, lighthouse!” Alastor shouted.

“Ballet dancer!” Angel cried through his cackles. Husk scowled and shook his head, restarting his motions. He stood on one foot with his other sticking out behind him while his hands pushed away from his face. Angel’s side was starting to hurt.

“Times almost up boys,” Charlie grinned dangerously. She had been the most surprising of them all, because it turned out she was dangerously competitive, even when it came to silly games in the parlor. Angel was actually a little scared of her - if they did teams again, he would want to be on hers. “Why don’t you just give up now? There’s no way you’re going to be able to catch up to us.”

“Wait fuck,” Angel’s eyes were watering. “Are you one a those fuckin’ cherub fountains that spits out th’ water?”

“YES!” Husk cheered, jumping up and down in excitement. His wings spread out wide, his pastel feathers stretching open. He closed his wings as he rushed over to the couch his team was sitting on and plopped down in the middle of Al and Angel, his eyes shining brightly in excitement - they even had actual stars which somehow made them look even bigger.

“How in the ever loving FUCK did you guess that?” Charlie asked, completely gobsmacked.

“It’s called skills, Toots,” Angel grinned at her. “Maybe ya should get a few before the next round.”

“Oh you’re SO going down you son of a-” Charlie cut herself off and went to stand in the center of the parlor, thinking of something to mime. After a moment she began to move, gesturing towards Vaggie and Niffty frantically.

She started acting very sultry, her eyes drooping and her mouth curling. She mimed something fluttering behind her back as she took a step towards her team. Instantly, Vaggie’s face lit up.

“Succubus!” She shouted.

“Fuck yeah!” Charlie grinned and pressed a kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek. Husk and Al groaned at how quickly the other team had gotten the point, but Angel was oddly silent.

His chest constricted painfully. He knew it was just a game, but the look on Charlie’s face - the way she moved so fluidly... it reminded him of how he had to act at the studios. The faked confidence, the forced sensuality. He had done that so many times he couldn’t even fathom the true number. Angel stared at the rug, thinking back to his old life.

His old life. The one he would probably never see again. Something sour started to curl in his stomach, making him want to crawl into bed and stay under his covers where he would be safe from the world around him.

“Angel? Are you alright?” Husk placed a hand on the spider’s arm. He noticed how silent the other was being, especially since it was Angel’s turn to go up.

“...’M fine,” He said after a moment. “Just tired.”

“Why don’t we call it a game,” Vaggie offered, a small frown on her lips. “It’s starting to get late.”

“Hm, you may take the victory this time,” Alastor said, trying to keep his tone light. “Next time, however, we will not go easy on you.”

“Easy on us!?” Charlie snapped incredulously. Angel took her outburst to slip from the parlor. “Oh, trust me you Blue Raspberry looking motherfucker-”

Her voice faded as Angel walked up the grand staircase towards his room. Every step felt heavier and heavier. He was starting to worry that he wouldn’t make it to his room and that he would end up curling up in a ball right there in the hallway.

Somehow he managed to get to his door and pushed it open. He paused, as if waiting for something. When nothing came scurrying around the bed to oink a hello, Angel let the tears roll down his cheeks. He sat heavily on the edge of the bed, his body weighing far more than he could handle in that moment.

He glanced over at the radio that sat on every nightstand in the hotel. It looked exactly like the one in his old room, down to the dent in the wood on the right side. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he wanted some sort of comfort.

Angel turned the radio on and clicked it to Alastor’s channel - the special one he used for his broadcasts, that was run by his Radio Tower alone. It was the channel he used most often, either to broadcast a slaughtering, or do his weekly talk show segment where he gossiped about things going on in the overlord sphere. Sometimes he would play music, and sometimes he would read listener submissions. That was where he had first read a poem for Angel, live on the radio.

Angel had started crying, his cheeks aching from how hard he was smiling.

As expected, nothing played. There was a faint buzzing sound, the gentle blue lights proving that it was working at least, but there was no music, or blood curdling screams. He knew nothing would happen, but having that knowledge confirmed fucking hurt.

“Hey Al,” He whispered. He and Alastor had communicated through the radio a few times, seeing how the Radio Demon refused to upgrade to a proper Hellphone. He would just speak to the radio, and Al would respond as though it were a call. Now, there was no response from the other end. “I... I knew I wouldn’t be able ta talk ta ya but... but fuck I was hopin’ I was wrong... I fuckin’ miss ya s-so much... this world is so different Al. I can barely wrap my head ‘round it. Husk is so cuddly and Vaggie is almost as peppy as Toots, and Charlie is actually a huge bitch,” He chuckled and shook his head. He sat back on his bed, resting his head against the back of the bed and pulling his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them to make himself smaller. “Even Niffty is different.... I saw this world’s Cherri. I think that one fucked me up th’ most. It’s kinda scary, cuz I fit in well here. I feel like I shoulda been sent here from th’ start, but I wasn’t and now everythin’s fuckin’ confusin’ and shit...”

He sighed, resting his forehead on his arm. A soft sob escaped his lips, even though he was digging his fangs into his own flesh to hold them back.

“I just miss ya,” He whispered after a moment. “Even with all ya bullshit... And it sucks cuz I don’t think I’ll eva get ta tell ya how much ya mean ta me. I woulda waited as long as ya needed ta be comfortable with touchin’ and shit... whateva ya needed ta be happy, ya know? I guess it’s too late now, huh?”

Angel fell silent, his mind racing. He shifted so he was laying on his side after a while, letting himself snuggle into his blankets. As he drifted off to sleep, eyes aching from crying, he didn’t realize he had left the radio on.

He didn’t notice the faint red sparks coming from the dials before the radio’s lights went dark.

* * *

“What’s goin’ on?” Angel asked as he came down the stairs. He had slept through dinner, his impromptu nap lasting far longer than he thought it would. He woke up just as the sky was beginning to lighten, so he made himself coffee and went to watch the city wake up from the roof again. Alastor was nowhere to be seen, but the memories of a few days prior, where he had been bent over the desk and fucked until his legs gave out warmed his cheeks. The desk had been gone, but Angel found a nice perch on the edge of the roof.

“Charlie’s calling a meeting,” Vaggie said, her face pinched in worry. “Something’s happened.”

“What?” Angel’s good mood was instantly gone. All the calmness he managed to gather from his morning on the roof disappeared in a blink of an eye.

“I don’t know,” She bit her thumbnail, anxiety radiating off of her. “She went out to do something this morning and came storming back in a few minutes ago, yelling for everyone to gather in the library.”

“Shit, let’s go.” Angel paced himself so he wouldn’t leave Vaggie behind. They entered the large double doors at the same time and saw everyone else was already gathered around the desk. Angel got flashbacks from his first day here, when they were gathered together to talk about some outside threat. As they got closer, Angel saw the only person missing from the staff was Niffty.

“What’s going on?” Vaggie asked, standing directly next to her girlfriend, who was leaning against the edge of the desk with a terrifying scowl on her face.

“She’s made her move,” She said grimly. Angel felt a chill run down his spine. “She made her intentions clear. She’s going to try to take the hotel and all the territory around it, and she’s not going to stop until it’s hers.”

“Why?” Husk asked, his pupils shrinking in fear. “I th-thought we had a truce with her!”

“When you have the power to crush your enemies, there’s no need for a truce.” Al sneered, crossing his arms and looking down.

“What’s th’ plan then?” Angel asked, turning back to Charlie.

“The plan is to call in people who actually know what the fuck they’re doing and go from there,” She glanced at the doors, her scowling only deepening when nothing happened.

“No offense Angel, but you aren’t exactly best suited for this..”

“Offense taken,” Angel said quickly. “Th’ fuck? I can fight!”

“I don’t doubt that, but...” She trailed off, her eyebrows pinching together even more.

“But what?” Angel challenged, not liking how she was putting him on the sidelines before he even knew what they were doing.

“But nothing-” She was stopped mid sentence by the library doors being thrown open.

Niffty scurried in, her eye wide and face pale. Behind her, two figures hurried in, their coats drawn up around their face, most likely to avoid being seen entering the hotel - Angel remembered having to do the same when he was running ‘errands’.

“Tony!” A sickeningly familiar voice called out. Angel’s blood turned to ice. “It’s been so long I was starting to think you’d vanished. Oh, you’re going pink? That’s definitely a new one, but I like it.”

“V-Val...” Angel could barely hear anything over the sound of his own heart beating, his ribs beginning to physically hurt from how hard his heart was slamming against them.

“Are you alright?” Valentino asked, his face turning up in concern. He was wearing a simple pinstripe suit, with a trench coat and a matching fedora, his antena pressing down the back of his head. His face looked too small, but that was because he wasn’t wearing any kind of eyewear. Angel hadn’t realized he had been moving until his back hit something.

“Mon ange?” Alastor asked from directly behind him. Angel must have walked into the deer, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Val.

“I think ya scared him Vee,” Vox said, shaking his screen a little. “I told you the hat looked fucking stupid.”

“My hat is FINE-” Val turned and snapped at Vox, who just rolled his eyes before turning towards Charlie. Angel felt arms wrap around him and he buried his face in Al’s hair without a second thought. He would have to apologize for digging his claws into Al’s blue suit later.

“Princess,” Vox cut Val’s complaints off. “We knew as soon as we heard about Madam E that you’d be calling on us.”

“I wouldn’t have if I had the choice,” She scoffed, but her voice trembled. “There’s only so much I can fucking do when I’m focusing on keeping this shithole in one piece.”

“Well, you know we’d do anything for Tony,” Val grinned, folding one pair of arms over his chest and putting the other set on his hips. “Just say the word.”

“Speaking of Tony,” Vox frowned a little, turning towards the spider. “You’ve been real quiet. Normally you’d be insulting the shit out of us-”

He stopped, eyes widening in shock. Angel sobbed into Alastor’s hair, his tears soaking the fur of his ears. Alastor just held him tightly, looking as though he was at a complete loss of what to do.

“Anthony?” Valentino asked, reaching out. The second his hand made contact with Angel’s shoulder, the spider collapsed, his knees giving out completely. Everyone watched as he began to tremble, his eyes staring blankly into space with tears soaking through his fur. He looked like a doll, just waiting to be used.

“His fur...” Husk whispered. Angel looked down just as the top button of his shirt popped off, flying across the room and landing somewhere out of sight. His pink was completely back, not even a hint of the teal he had woken up with. He could feel his chest was back to the right size too, judging by the tightness of the shirt.

“Princess, care to fill us in?” Val turned to Charlie, the lightness in his voice gone. She bit her lip, contemplating her options, before scowling.

“Fuck,” She snapped to no one in particular. “Husk, take Angel up to his room to clean up. We’ll figure out a game plan for M’Lady Bitch and when he feels up to it we’ll fucking talk about all of this, I guess.”

“Of course,” Husk jumped to his feet and went over to where Angel remained kneeling, seemingly obvious to Alastor’s attempts to get him to stand. “Come on Angel, I’ll run a bath for you, okay? I’ll even use that bathbomb we got last time we went shopping.”

“H-Husk...” Angel sounded hoarse, as though he had been screaming.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Husk helped Angel stand, the spider instantly hunching his shoulders as if to protect himself from an attack. He looked withdrawn - terrified of something that they apparently couldn’t see. “Come on, you’re safe.”

Angel let Husk lead him away, able to hear Val and Vox’s voices even after they were far from the library. They seemed to echo through his skull, bouncing behind his eyes. He didn’t even realize they made it back to his room until he was being gently pushed down onto the bed, a gentle paw cupping his cheek for a moment.

He stared at his hands as he heard the water running in the adjoined bathroom. Husk hummed under his breath, but all Angel could focus on was the faint voices coming from below him. He couldn’t make out anything they were saying, and maybe it was more of the fact that he knew they were there rather than actually being able to hear them, but either way it made his stomach flip.

Of course Valentino existed in this world. Why wouldn’t he? He was an overlord, and a powerful one at that. What was tripping Angel up was how the moth demon spoke to him. There was no contempt in his voice, but rather... friendly recognition. He had called Angel “Anthony” as well, which meant they were at least familiar.

 _“Well, you know we’d do anything for Tony.”_ The words seemed burned into his mind.

Val had said ‘we’. We, as in both Valentino and Vox would do anything for Angel- no, they would do anything for Anthony, for whatever reason.

Angel felt himself being guided to the bathroom. The water he slid down into was near boiling, but it felt so good. The soft pain was enough to snap him back to reality as Husk ran the oil through Angel’s fur to keep it soft and bright. Neither spoke, but it was a familiar sort of silence that gave Angel a chance to think about what he was going to do next.

Husk began to rinse his fur as he started to panic. They were going to go back downstairs and he would have to face the two demons that caused him the most pain. A shudder when through his body at the thought, but he knew it was inevitable.

Even though this wasn’t his world - wasn’t his hotel, wasn’t his family - Angel would be damned to Double Hell if he was going to sit back and let this mystery threat hurt the people he had started to care so much about. He wasn’t going to cower in his room while they were all struggling for their lives.

He was going to fight, and if that meant facing Val and Vox, Angel would have to square his shoulders and look the overlords in the eye without any fear showing. The terror would be clawing through his lungs, trying to make him choke, but he would have to shove it down. It wouldn’t be the first time he did it.

“Feeling better?” Husk asked, handing Angel a fluffy towel.

“Mm, sorry ‘bout all a’ that...” He hummed, beginning to dry his fur almost too roughly. He would have to blow dry it before they left the room, but he wanted to do as much as he could with the towel first.

“What... what happened?” Husk turned to Angel, his face open and eyes shining. Angel felt a stab go through his chest - Husk didn’t know how dangerous he could be, did he?

“Uh,” Angel hesitated for a moment before realizing it might be good to practice what he was going to have to say to the others. At least here it was just him and Husk. “In my world, Val was my pimp and Vox was his on-again, off-again boyfriend.”

“Your... pimp?” Husk asked, the innocence in his voice so thick it almost made Angel wince.

“He tricked me inta givin’ him my soul,” He plugged the hairdryer in but didn’t turn in on yet, opting to stare at himself in the mirror. “He was th’ one that sold me out ta randos ta get him money. He chose what scenes I’d film, and with who, and when. He’d... do whateva it took ta keep me as his top star so I’d keep bringin’ in th’ cash.”

“What do you mean, whatever it took?” Husk looked at Angel through the mirror, his face serious. Angel was almost surprised to see that sort of expression on the cat, seeing how Husk was almost always smiling or - ironically enough - giving Angel puppy-dog eyes.

“Spent th’ first decade in Hell so fucked up on who knows how many drugs that I didn’t even know my own name,” Angel laughed, but he wasn’t amused in the slightest. “Afta that, I guess my performance was startin’ ta drop so he cut back on th’ drugs for awhile. Never stopped for long tho. I was hopped up on somethin’ basically at all times.”

“He drugged you and forced you into protsitution.” It wasn’t a question.

“Technically I gave him my contract.” Angel knew it was his fault. He wasn’t going to try to make excuses this far down the line. He started the hair dryer, not wanting to know what Husk was thinking to cast such a dark expression across his bright face. He worked quickly, using his extra hands to run a brush through his fur so he dried faster.

When he was mostly dry - he didn’t mind being a little damp, and he knew they were going to be expecting him back soon - Angel slipped on one of the nightgowns he had purchased. He wanted to feel more normal, but it never fit right because of how flat his chest was. Now that he was back to his true self, the silk fell properly around his bust and hips, the hem brushing an inch above his knees. He threw on a pair of tall socks as well, needing the extra layer of comfort for what was about to happen.

“You look beautiful, Angel.” Husk said when he noticed Angel staring at himself in the mirror. Angel hadn’t noticed until that moment, but until then his eyes had been the same muddled purple-teal as his fur. Now they were bright pink again.

Finally, the demon looking back at him was someone he knew.

“Thanks.” Angel offered his friend a small smile. They started down the stairs again, making a fair distance before either spoke again.

“I know it won’t really help all that much,” Husk said, his wings pulled tight against his body as they walked. “But here, Val and Vox are Anthony’s friends.”

“What?” Angel stopped walking entirely for a moment before scrambling to catch up.

“Mm, he never really told us much about his life before coming to the hotel, but we know that Anthony was part of a branch of the mafia down here,” Husk continued. “And apparently, he did something for Val and Vox, so now they keep saying they owe him. We’ve only had to call on them a few times since Alastor brought everyone here, but there were a few times where they would just... show up at the door, then the three of you would just disappear for a few days before coming back covered in blood.”

“Oh...” Angel didn’t know how to feel about this new information.

“Yeah, Anthony didn’t like it when they got too friendly, but he never really tried to discourage it,” Husk laughed a little. “I remember the first time Val said Anthony was like the son he never had. Anthony lost his mind, but later I saw him and Val coming back to the hotel with a bunch of bags. He looked pretty happy, especially because he didn’t think anyone saw him come in.”

Angel’s throat constricted. He had always wondered what kind of relationship he and Val could have shared in a different situation, but out of all the fantasies he had entertained, a father-son relationship hadn’t even crossed his mind for a moment.

He tried to imagine what it would be like, to have Val as a sort of paternal figure. He would have Angel’s back when he got in trouble. He would have advice if Angel needed it - it probably wouldn’t be good advice, but it would be advice nonetheless. He would be the support that Angel’s real father never gave.

As they neared the library, the anxiety began to bubble in his stomach. He didn’t want to face them, but a small part of him wanted to see how this was going to turn out - wanted to experience what Anthony had - what Angel was never allowed to have.

Husk opened the door for Angel, letting the taller demon in first before closing it behind them. All eyes were instantly on them, and Angel suddenly felt self conscious. Maybe he should have worn something less revealing-

“Anthony!” Valentino jumped to his feet, his antennas sticking straight up in the air. “You look great! Is that a new nightgown?”

“Uh, yeah,” Angel gave Val and Vox a wide berth as he walked around them back towards Alastor. “There’s... a few new things, I guess.”

“Hey, Tony?” Vox called. Angel looked over, surprising himself at how quickly he responded to the name. He had only been Anthony for the last decade of his life, after slipping away to try his hand at living on his own, and had his name changed to Angel Dust shortly after falling to Hell. “When did you get tits?”

“Ha, funny story...” The tone of Angel’s voice clearly told them that it was not, in fact, a funny story at all.

“You don’t have to tell them anything if you are not comfortable.” Alastor tugged on the skirt of the nightgown, glancing between Angel and the other two overlords. Angel took a deep breath before turning to Charlie.

“Would them knowin’ help with this whole Madam E bullshit?” He asked. Charlie wrinkled her nose before nodding slightly.

“Yeah, there’s less of a chance of them saying something stupid and ruining everything that way.” She said, sounding reluctant to do so. Angel gave her a tight smile before turning back to the other two, who were watching him curiously.

“Ya might wanna sit down,” He ran a hand through his still damp bangs, feeling his claws gently scrape against his scalp. He could already sense a headache forming behind his eyes, particularly the left one. “This ain’t gonna be a quick chat.”

“O...kay.” Val and Vox glanced at each other for a moment before moving to sit on the couch that Vaggie and Niffty had just vacated.

“Alright,” Angel wrapped his arms around his chest. There was something comforting about feeling his chest squish the right way again. “So...”

Angel felt drained, but he hoped he was hiding his fatigue better than Val and Vox were, seeing how the two overlords looked as though Angel had shot their dog right in front of their eyes. Val, more so than Vox, looked horrified at what he had just learned about his other world persona. Angel found it... oddly easy to explain everything, even about how Valentino treated him. Part of him felt like it was easy because he was already so emotionally drained that there wasn’t anything left to be affected by the trauma.

Glancing around, Angel saw he was the only one who wasn’t affected by what he had been saying. Charlie looked angry, while Vaggie was in tears. Husk looked positively feral, his eyes dark and fangs bared. Niffty had a hand over her mouth as though she was about to throw up, while Alastor looked as shell-shocked as Angel felt inside.

“I... well, your reactions earlier make sense, I guess.” Valentino said softly, looking at his hands with a pinched expression.

“You know, if this is a joke, it’s a really convincing one.” Vox muttered, crossing his arms.

“Trust me, I wish it was a joke too,” Charlie pinched the bridge of her nose. “If it were a fucking joke, it would make this whole thing so much simpler.”

“Did you come up in a plan?” Angel asked, wanting to change the subject. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with the looks the others were giving him.

“Just some shit for defense,” Charlie sighed. “We don’t want to start anything we can’t finish, so we’re going to wait for them to make a move before we do anything.”

“She’s getting pissy,” Vox added. “Guess she figured out where Anthony’s been hiding out and isn’t waiting to get back at him.”

“Or get him back.” Valentino added.

“Get me back?” Angel glanced around. No one would look at him.

“You didn’t tell him?” Val’s eyebrows shot up. Angel watched as the tension in the room increased. Husk’s ears pressed down against his head as his tail flicked anxiously.

“Al, th’ fuck are they talking ‘bout?” He asked, his stomach sinking when Alastor looked away as well. “Why won’t anyone look at me! What the fuck is goin’ on!?”

“Angel...” Vaggie trailed off, tugging on her hair.

“Madam E,” Husk continued. “Her full name is Madam Ecstasy.”

Angel felt his stomach drop through the floor. The dots were being connected a little too quickly, and he thought he was going to pass out. The room started spinning as Angel’s head started feeling too light to stay upright.

“Her real name is Molly,” Valentino finished, almost reluctantly. “The strongest Overlord in the entirety of Hell, and your sister.”

“Fuck...” Angel whispered before tears started running down his face. The only sounds that were heard in the library were his soft sobs and pathetic laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update so soon? You know what that means! It means I have a shit ton of school work that I don't want to do! Unfortunately my depression is hitting HARD so I'm in that place where I feel like everything I do is garbage lmao I know this fic isn't bad, I just have to wait for this episode to pass and it'll be fine XD 
> 
> Thank being said, surprise! I was actually really freaked out when the big twist was guessed right after I hinted at it XD Whoever guessed Val, Vox and Molly right from the start, I'm in awe of you and your mind. But yeah, this is why everyone acted so strange around Angel whenever Madam E or Cherri was brought up, because they knew they were related! They don't, however, know what happened between the siblings, so we're all going to find that out together UwU
> 
> I also love how I keep worrying that I'm writing everyone OOC, then I remember that they're lit rally the opposite of themselves therefor are going to be out of character... I love this fic, but I'm also lowkey excited to write another in the OG universe so I can write everyone normally again lmao


	6. Unexpected Allies

Angel’s laughter tapered off, leaving the library in complete silence. It seemed that the lack of noise was creating a void, sucking in any air he might have needed. Alastor knelt beside him, glancing between Angel and Charlie, who was glaring at Val.

“You couldn't have done that a little more delicately?” Charlie demanded.

“What? You have to rip it off like a bandaid,” Val responded, but it was clear that he regretted saying it so bluntly. “Talking in circles isn’t going to help, now that Madam E is making her move against you.”

“Angel?” Husk knelt beside the spider as well, placing a hand on Angel’s shoulder.

“I knew it was too good ta be true,” Angel whispered, his voice hoarse.

“What was too good?”

“Everything,” Angel looked up at Husk, his eyes lifeless and glassy despite the lopsided smile on his face. “I thought... I thought this world was gonna be betta than mine... that I was gonna fit in here betta than there. I thought... I thought that maybe I could m-make a new life here, where things were b-better, but I can’t- I can’t do it if Molls is...”

“Are you close to her in your reality?” Valentino asked. Even through his grief, Angel could hear the shame and regret in his voice - two emotions he had never heard from his pimp, so the sudden presence was jarring.

“She’s my best friend,” Angel answered, his smile softening a little. “She was th’ first person ta know ‘bout me... first person ta call me Anthony and ta treat me like her brotha. Then Niss got inta it and was surprisingly understandin’, but it was always Molly. She was... the only person I knew I could count on no matta what. No matta how shitty a situation I got myself inta, she was always there ta bail me out. They used ta joke that we were two halves a’ th’ same person.”

“Aren’t you twins too?” Valentino added, much to the surprise of everyone else.

“Mm, I’m th’ older one though,” Angel recalled how he used to hold that over her, that whole three minute head start on life that he had. “Fuck... Not Molls too...”

“If it means anything, you were close up until about a year ago.” Val supplied. Angel froze, looking up at the taller demon for a moment. He sprung to his feet and stopped just inches in front of him.

“We were?” He asked, the desperation bleeding through his voice.

“Mm, the three of you took over the Pentagram in less than a decade, and have only been expanding your power since then.”

“What happened to us?” Angel hated how he was begging, especially to Valentino of all people. The last time he begged to Val, he ended up with a broken collar bone.

“Well...” Val glanced away, his eyebrows pinching. “You and Miss Molly arrived in Hell around the same time and Arakniss fell a few years after.”

“Wait, we fell at the same time?” Angel’s heart stopped. His own death had been painful and lonely, overdosing in his shitty apartment on a laced dose of his namesake. His Molly hadn’t died for nearly twenty more years, when she bled out during childbirth.

“You had a suicide pact when you were alive, so something must have happened to make you fulfill it.” Valentino’s voice was soft, as if he was telling a secret that wasn’t his to tell, which in a way was exactly what he was doing.

“How do you know so much about this?” Angel felt protective of siblings he technically didn’t even know.

“Anthony owned my soul,” He answered easily. “Even though I wasn’t mortal, I made the mistake of challenging him and his power. He gave me the option to be exterminated or to work for him. Of course I chose the latter, wanting to save my own hide. After a few decades he gave me my freedom, saying I earned it, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I stayed with the family. Once he left, Vox and I slipped away. I guess Miss Molly and Arackniss didn’t care about us as much as they cared for their brother.”

“Holy fuck,” Angel let out an incredulous laugh. The irony was so thick he thought he was going to choke on it. “Holy fuckin’ fuck...”

“What happened between Anthony and his sister to chase him off like that?” Vaggie asked, looking cautiously between Angel and Valentino. “If they were so close, why did they get into a fight?”

“He never told me exactly what happened, but from what I’ve gathered, Alastor was captured for some discretion against the Family, and Anthony was the one who was supposed to torture him for information.”

Angel hadn’t been there, but it was almost as if he could see the scene playing out in front of his eyes. He could imagine a bare room with a single chair, Alastor tied to it. He could imagine Alastor’s ears pressed down tightly as he trembled in his seat, his blue eyes looking even larger on his pale face. He could imagine sauntering over to him, grinning as Al stared up at him in horror.

“Apparently the Radio Demon did something to piss either Miss Molly or Arackinss off, but they sent Anthony to deal with it,” Valentino recounted, tapping his fingers anxiously against the arm of the couch. “Whatever happened in that room... no one but Anthony and Al know exactly what went down, and they’ve been pretty adamant about keeping it a secret.”

“It’s not my story to tell,” Alastor muttered. “It’s Anthony’s.”

Angel tried to think about what could have happened. Maybe Alastor broke down, or he threatened Anthony, or maybe even managed to convince the spider to let him go. Maybe he made Anthony feel something he hadn’t experienced before - maybe he did something to make Anthony’s heart flutter, despite his straight-laced persona. Maybe he did something to change the way Anthony looked at his family, and his work.

“Vox and I were out on a collection job, so we had no idea what was going on until shit hit the fan,” Valentino continued, as if Alastor hadn’t said anything. “We got back to the base and there were alarms going off and bullets flying everywhere. We just barely caught the last part of the fight, where Miss Molly was yelling at Anthony.”

Angel could picture the chaos. Bullets whizzing through the air and embedding themselves into walls, furniture being thrown and broken. Screams and shouts, blood and bile splashed on the walls and the carpets and the ceiling.

“It was... terrifying,” Vox added in. “I’ve never seen Miss Molly look that fucking pissed before. I genuinely thought she was going to go full Black Widow and physically bite Anthony’s head off.”

“We saw Anthony shielding Alastor from Miss Molly.”

Angel could see it. Alastor, hiding behind Anthony’s height. Anthony, staring his sister down, her eyes blazing in anger and betrayal. He could imagine the look of dangerous defiance on his face as he stared his beloved sister in the eyes.

“They were screaming at each other in Italian. We couldn’t understand a single word they were saying, but when Miss Molly started shooting at them we were able to piece together what they were arguing about.”

Angel could almost feel Molly’s bullets flying past his face, the fur on his face fluttering in the air path. He could imagine the absolute heartbreak Anthony must have felt to have his sister shooting at him, as if he were the enemy. As if they weren’t each other’s only support.

“We managed to cover for Anthony and Al to escape, but we got pretty fucked up in the process.”

“Miss Molly was feral when she caught us, but eventually got bored of punishing us,” Vox sighed, as if he were recalling a normal day. “After about a week we managed to slip away. It took us a few months to track Anthony down, and the only reason we found him at all was because Val still had a connection to him from their contract, even if it was broken.”

“Ah...” Angel nodded, his head feeling too heavy from the new information. It was too much - there was no way that was real. There was no way... right? And Alastor... he did something to Anthony to make him turn against his entire family. Angel could barely think of a single reason he would betray Molly and Arakniss like that - he wouldn’t even have picked his own Alastor over his siblings for anything.

Did Alastor trick Anthony? Bribe him? Offer him something that Anthony couldn’t refuse, making a deal where he had no choice? Would Alastor do that? Was Alastor just using Anthony for some larger gain?

Was Alastor just using Angel, for his body? For his affections? Anthony wouldn’t give him anything, but Angel would, right?

“Angel, are you alright?” Alastor put a hand on Angel’s shoulder, only to freeze when the spider ripped himself away from his touch.

“Al?” He whispered, his voice wavering dangerously. “What- how...” he trailed off, wrapping his arms around his chest and digging his claws into his arms.

“A-Angel?”

“Do ya really like me? Or are ya just using me ‘cause Tony wouldn’t fuck ya?”

“Angel!” Husk exclaimed, too surprised to hold his tongue.

“Mon ange, why would you-”

“Just answer me!” Angel snapped, his fangs showing as his lip curled up in a sneer.

“This is something we should talk about in private,” Alastor looked hurt that Angel would distrust him like that, but there was also a note of understanding in his eyes. “Charlie, my dear?”

“Yeah?” She snapped with no fire.

“Finish planning with Val and Vox,” He said, and for the first time since Angel had woken up in this world, he actually sounded like the overlord he was. “When I return, we’ll start to double down on our defenses. If she’s moving in, we don’t have time to waste.”

“Take care of your shit and get back down here asap.” She frowned, but even she could tell this wasn’t something she should mess with.

Alastor nodded to her before turning to Angel, who refused to look him in the eye. They walked from the library in silence, going towards the kitchen. Angel’s mind was a tornado of chaos, his thoughts bouncing through his brain like bullets ricocheting off his skull.

Was Alastor just using him? Did he use Anthony to escape from Molly? Did he actually care about anyone in the hotel, or was this really all just for his personal gain? Would Al be THAT heartless?

He didn’t want to think he would be, but everything says otherwise. Alastor did something to make Anthony turn against his family - something Angel could NEVER fathom, unable to even pretend to know what would change his heart so much. Angel’s Alastor was suave and cruel, using others for his own gain, but he never tried to use Angel. He treated Husk and Niffty with respect. He showed his own odd type of paternal affection for Charlie and Vaggie. Even he wouldn’t use his family like that.

But this Alastor was different. He was more unhinged, and more insane. He seemed to act more on impulse, and his actions were all over the place. Angel couldn’t pin him down - one moment he was touchy and lustful while the next he was anxious and trembling while the third moment had him snappish and possessive.

Angel wasn’t sure he even knew who this Alastor was.

The kitchen was empty, as expected. Angel instantly hopped up on the island counter out of habit, his stomach rolling in fear. He had no idea what this conversation was going to become.

What if Alastor tried to do to Angel what he did to Anthony to make him act so rashly?

“I’m not.” Alastor said after a moment. It made Angel start faintly, remembering the question he had asked back in the library.

“Ya sure? Cuz there’s too much that’s makin’ me doubt ya.”

“Is there really?” Alastor held himself in a comforting manner. “I didn’t realize I left so much room for uncertainty...”

“Well can ya blame me?” Angel scoffed. “First a’ all, what the fuck did ya do ta make him turn against his family?”

“What?” Alastor blinked, as if genuinely surprised.

“If Anthony is anything like me, he would NEVER betray his siblings like that.” Angel could feel the anger rising in his chest again.

“I simply talked to him.”

“I fuckin’ doubt that.” Angel glared.

“He didn’t care to listen to me at first, but after a few hours he started to realize I wasn’t what his sister said I was,” Alastor bit his lip for a moment before continuing. “She seemed to think I was the sort of overlord that was going to threaten her territories, even though I had never once given her a reason to think I was going to do anything. I was caught and thrown in this empty room, tied to a chair. Anthony came in and began beating me, torturing me, trying to make me give up my plans, but I didn’t have any.”

Angel tried not to feel sympathy, but he couldn’t help it. He had been in that sort of situation before, where the person he was supposed to be getting information out of genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. In those cases, they usually didn’t realize they were innocent until it was too late, and by then it was more merciful to put them out of their pain.

“When he finally realized I was telling the truth, he felt terrible. He didn’t seem to understand why his sister would lie to him, even when she knew I wasn’t a threat. She put a hit out on me because she couldn’t stand to have another overlord bordering her territories, and the longer I stayed silent, the more anxious she got.”

“So what did Anthony do?” Angel asked before he could stop himself.

“He was in denial about it for a few days. He would storm off in anger, but would always return the next day to try to work out what was going on in his head,” Alastor had a small, sad smile on his face. “After a week of that, he must have finally realized that his sister wasn’t the perfect partner in crime he thought she was. He started looking into things and found out what she had been hiding from him, to keep him under her control. He was livid, which was understandable. He just found out that his twin sister was using him... He came into my cell one night, drunk. He was crying and rambling on in Italian. I had no idea what he was saying, but it was clear he wanted comfort, so I gave it to him. Afterwards, he was adamant that he would never sleep with another man, but I think he was just scared of how vulnerable he was in that moment. He only came to me twice after that, but wouldn’t allow either of us to acknowledge it afterwards.”

“Molly would neva...” Angel refused to believe it. Not Molly. Never Molly.

“Your sister is vastly different from the Molly in this world, I’m afraid,” Alastor sounded genuinely regretful. “I do hope you never have to face her.”

Angel didn’t want to think about what would happen if he were to come face to face with this world’s Molly. Would he get mad? Would he fight her? Would she hurt him?

“So... did ya actually care about him? Or was he just someone ta fuck?”

“If I only liked Anthony for the sex, it would be a very shallow, short-lived infatuation,” Al looked aside, eyes narrowing slightly. “Like I said, we only slept together on three occasions.”

“So ya liked him fa him?” Angel clarified. Alastor nodded. “If-if ya liked him, why did ya come onta me?”

“It took a little while to fully understand that you and he are not the same,” Alastor sighed, running a hand through his bangs. “For the first few days, I found it difficult to remember that it was not Anthony acting that way, but rather Angel Dust. In those days, it made me crave... familiarity. Comfort. Affection... and you were just so... alluring. Believe me when I say I tried to stop myself, but I am a creature of little patience. I wanted you, and I could see my advances weren’t being denied.”

“What made ya change ya mind on me?”

“When you started changing colors, it made me realize that I may never have the opportunity to get my dear Anthony back,” Alastor sounded choked up, but he wasn’t crying outright. “I was forced to come to terms with the fact that I may have lost the only person I’ve ever truly cared for since my death. Can you blame me for searching for some solace.”

“So you were usin’ me, at least a lil’ bit.” Angel didn’t phrase it as a question. Alastor winced and closed his eyes.

“Maybe a little,” He breathed, his ears pressing down. “Though... have you not been doing the same thing?”

“Fuck...” Angel scowled at his feet. Alastor was right - he had been using Alastor for comfort, to find some sort of familiarity in this world of insanity. He wasn’t doing it maliciously, but he was doing it nonetheless.

“Look, we aren’t the one the other wants,” Alastor straightened his shoulders and finally looked Angel in the eye. There was a firmness to his face that reminded Angel of his Al. It made his chest ache. “But are we so wrong for looking for comfort in one another?”

Angel shook his head, not wanting to answer verbally. He wanted to go to sleep and wake up only when things were normal again.

“This is a fuckin’ nightmare...” He sighed, all the fire in his stomach extinguishing itself.

“Mm, and morning is still far off,” Alastor shook his head. “We should be returning to the others. This is a crucial time, and every moment we waste is to our detriment.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Angel slid off the counter, his feet hitting the floor silently. “Hey Al?”

“Yes?” Alastor stopped and turned, looking back over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he felt himself being pulled close, before they slipped shut.  
Angel kissed him gently, as if he were afraid of one of them would shatter if he added any more pressure to it. He pulled away just as Al was raising his hand to cup his cheek.

“Ready?” He asked, his eyes stinging.

“Are you?” Alastor shot back.

“Not even fuckin’ close.” Angel grinned dangerously and grabbed Al’s hand, pulling him out of the kitchen.

This wasn’t his world, but he wasn’t a coward. He wasn’t going to hide away while his new friends fought for their lives. He was going to be right there with them, fighting against his siblings. It would kill him inside, but he would rather be exterminated by Molly’s hand than tuck his tail between his legs and hide under his bed like he used to when his Father was looking for someone to beat.

Angel was going to prove to himself that he wasn’t a coward. He wasn’t useless. He wasn’t helpless. He was Angel Dust for fuck’s sake! He tightened his jaw as they made their way through the halls, his chest aching at the realization of what the coming days were going to bring.

* * *

The silence seemed to stretch on. Angel pondered for a moment how he managed to get himself into this situation, and the only conclusion he could reach was that some cosmic power wanted to watch him suffer. Charlie, Vaggie and Alastor went off to fortify their defenses while Husk and Niffty started gathering emergency supplies, abandoning Angel with Val and Vox in the parlor - they were given instructions to ‘handle things as they normally would - before being left to their own devices.

He was doing his best to keep his heart rate under control, but he could feel it picking up every time one of the other two demons so much as shifted in their seats. Val seemed to be fidgeting more than Vox for some reason, and it was making Angel even more uneasy.

“Can you chill the fuck out for a second?” Vox jabbed his elbow into Val’s side.

“What?” Val snapped, looking to the side, hunching his shoulders a little.

“You’re making me anxious.”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?’

“Stop fidgeting like a child.”

“I just...” Val glanced at Angel, who flinched. “I don’t like this at all...”

“And you think he does?” Vox’s voice lowered to a hiss, elbowing Val again. “How do you think he feels, huh?”

“Ya don’t gotta talk about me like I ain’t here,” Angel snapped, but it was weak. He was doing his best to keep his voice from shaking. The longer he sat there, the better control he was able to get over himself, but it seemed his core was quaking with no way to stop it. “I’m doin’ fuckin’ fine, okay?”

“Anthony-”

“It’s Angel,” He snapped, glaring at Val. “You’re the LAST person who gets ta call me Anthony, you piece a’ shit!”

Valentino’s face crumpled, as if Angel had physically struck him. Angel felt a twinge of regret for raising his voice - maybe he had been spending too much time with Husk, who would get upset at any loud noises, or maybe he reminded himself too much of his Father in that moment - but he pushed it aside.

“Hey, I get why you hate your Val, but that’s no reason to take your shit out on him.” Vox frowned, turning towards Angel.

“It’s alright Voxy,” Valentino frowned down at his hands. “I don’t blame him... fuck, I can’t stop thinking about it though...”

“Bout what?” Angel found himself asking curiously.

“Your version of me,” Valentino’s frown turned into a sneer. “If he really is me... does that mean I could have been him? I could have been that person, if our situations were just a little different? That he could have been me? It’s... hard to wrap my head around... I always prided myself on my morals. Sure, they ain’t great, but at least I HAVE some. Most of the fuckers down here can’t even say that.”

“It sucks cuz this world is makin’ me realize how shitty my world is,” Angel sighed, slumping down in his seat. “There’s barely anyone with anything good in ‘em. Charlie does her best, but it’s clear no one really takes her seriously otha than Vaggie. The only people who were actually good were... well, Toots and Molls... but now this world is fucked up too.”

“Hell is Hell, no matter what universe you’re in,” Vox spat, crossing his arms. “No matter how many worlds you run through, you won’t find one that’s perfect. That’s the whole point of being alive - finding what works best for you, and trying to survive it.”

“I just... I wanna go home.” Angel pulled his legs up, his heels catching on the edge of the couch cushion.

“Even if home is worse than here?”

“Yeah, cuz even if it’s worse, it’s still where I belong,” Angel rested his chin on his knees, taking a deep, calming breath. “I don’t belong here, and that’s neva gonna change. No matta how long I’m stuck here, I’ll neva really fit in. Besides, ya probably want Anthony back, right? Bet ya were disappointed ta meet me.” He chuckled, but it was soft. Sad. Hopeless.

“I can’t say I wasn’t upset, but I know it’s not your fault,” Val admitted. He didn’t sound angry, but it still cut Angel deep. “My relationship with Tony is... complicated, but it’s one that means a lot to me.”

“Tell me about him?” Angel asked, wanting to know more about his other self. He learned quite a bit from the staff of the hotel, but it seemed Anthony was very good at keeping them all at a distance. There was only so much they could tell him, but Angel knew Val and Vox knew much more than they were letting on.

“Like I said before, I was stupid enough to challenge him and Miss Molly right when they started gathering power,” Valentino recalled, and Angel might have labeled his tone as fond. “I thought it would be easy, seeing how I’ve been an overlord longer than the two spiders probably existed, but I misjudged them. He cornered me pretty quickly, and gave me the ultimatum. I asked him why, because they had slaughtered everyone else without blinking. I didn’t get why they would spare me, but apparently they knew how strong I was and wanted to hire my power for their use. Tony had me under contract for almost thirty years before he finally set me free. Since I had lost all my territory in those years, I didn’t really have anywhere to go, so I stayed with him as a partner. We found Vox getting himself caught up in some shit that was over his head and bailed him out. Tony offered him the same thing, but ended up not making an official contract. Still gave us the same protection if we were contracted though.”

“I thought he was a fucking asshole when I first met him,” Vox chimed in. “He bitched at everyone and couldn’t take a joke if his life depended on it. Arakniss was pretty okay, but even he had his moments. The worst of the three was Miss Molly - she seems so nice but she’s literally luring you into her web.”

“The thing is, Tony is actually really funny,” Valentino’s mouth turned up in a smile. Angel was pretty sure the moth didn’t even realize he was doing it. “His sense of humor was... kind of fucked up, but once you got used to it he was hilarious. It took a lot to get him to trust me at all, and even longer for him to open up, but when he did...”

Angel didn’t interrupt, even though his mind was whirling. Was Anthony that different behind closed doors? Was he just as traumatized as Angel was? Was it the same trauma? Would they have more in common than Angel initially thought? Would they have gotten along, if they ever had the chance to meet?

“I started getting... protective of him,” Val continued. “A few times I took bullets meant for him, and fuck did I get chewed out after. He would be screaming in my ear about being reckless at the same time he’s patching me up. I still remember the first time he came to my room after a fight with his dad.”

“Pops is here too?” Angel asked before mentally berating himself. Of course his father was in Hell, even in this universe, but no one had mentioned him while talking about the sibling’s rise to power, so he was caught off guard.

“He tried to challenge his kids when he finally fell, but they put him in his place. He stayed around the compound though, cuz he knew things no one else did about Mafia workings,” Vox explained. “He still thought he had the right to fuck his kids up when they did something he didn’t like. Even though they were the ones with the real power, they were still afraid of him.”

“I guess they got into a fight about something Tony did wrong, cuz he came by my room almost blackout drunk and with a split lip,” Valentino’s red eyes darkened at the memory. “I helped him sober up a little, but I wasn’t expecting him to start... crying. He told me everything his dad had done to him, and how he was treated in his life. It made me fuckin’ feral - he’s so strong but still let’s his family walk all over him!”

Angel caught the switch from past tense to present. He doubted Valentino noticed himself, but it made the spider’s chest ache. It was just another reminder that this wasn’t his world - that he was taking someone else’s place in order to exist there.

“He told me... he told me that I acted more like a father than his dad ever did,” Val’s voice dropped. “I never thought I’d be a good dad before, especially seeing how I’m a fucking overlord in Hell, but at that moment I wanted to protect him. After that I did what I could for him, but he didn’t want anyone knowing. He tried to make me think it was because he didn’t need me coddling him, or because he didn’t want to seem weak by relying on someone, but I knew it was because he was scared someone would hurt me to get to him. After he ran off to this hotel, I’ve tried my best to help out, but he’s gotten... more closed off. Colder, even. I think he thought I was a spy for his sister, but I got him to realize I don’t have any loyalties towards that bitch-”

“Don’t call her that.” Angel snapped before he realized what he was saying. He looked away, but not before seeing the sad, understanding smile on Val’s face.

“I know it means Jack fucking shit, but I’m sorry your Val treated you like that,” He finally met Angel’s eyes before the spider looked away again. “Trust me, if I could meet this asshole, I’d empty a few rounds into his stomach.”

“Ha... is it sad that I’m kinda glad at least Tony got someone ta care fa him?” Angel could feel his eyes sting but he took another deep breath to fight back the tears. He could feel the concerned looks from the other two on him, but he kept his face turned away. “Like... fuck, I wish I had someone ta be a dad ta me, but at least some version a me, somewhere in the universe, got what I neva did, ya know?”

“You didn’t have anyone in your world?” Vox sounded choked.

“Charlie was kinda like a ma,” He gave a short huff. “And sometimes Niss would do somethin’ that made me think maybe he actually did care ‘bout me, but otha than that not really...”

A silence fell over the room. No one really knew what to say, their faces heavy with the thought clouding their minds. There was a threat looming over them - one that could destroy the hotel physically but also destroy Angel physically and emotionally in a simple moment - and there was nothing they could do but wait like sitting ducks, basically offering themselves up to the Mafia - to Molly and Arakniss.

“Is there anything we can do ta help with th’ prep for this fight?” Angel sighed after a moment of suffocating silence.

“There’s one thing, but...” Val trailed off, glancing towards Vox.

“But what?”

“It’s an outside contact,” Vox continued. “We’d have to go to him, and the only reason he’d help is cuz he owes Tony, but if he can tell you aren’t him...”

“We go in, say I’m inna bad mood ‘n that if he needs me ta talk that I’ll get pissed off ‘n shoot up the place,” Angel said quickly and precisely. This wouldn’t be the first time he’s pulled off this trick. “You’ll talk fa me, playin’ up how angry I am and tryin’ ta rush the job ta get outta there as fast as possible.”

“You’ve done this before.” Val said, not phrasing it like a question.

“One time Niss got captured,” Angel recalled almost fondly. “Since we all looked pretty fuckin’ similar, I just had ta act like him when Molls bullshat our way through th’ meetin. When they started ta look too close or started askin’ questions, I’d just growl n’ reach for my gun. We got outta there in unda an hour.”

“Damn, you think that’ll work?” Vox blinked, his face glitching for a moment.

“If you two can act, we’ll be aight.”

“Think we should try it?” Val asked.

“Worst case scenario we shoot up the place and run away in the distraction,” Vox rubbed the side of his screen. “We’d lose our in with the guy but that ain’t the worst thing in the world.”

“So, we doin’ this?” Angel raised an eyebrow.

“Sure.”

“I’m in.”

“Aight, I’ll meet ya back here in twenty.” Angel stood, crossing his arms to hide how hard his hands were shaking.

Angel looked at himself in the mirror. It was almost too easy to turn himself back into the demon he woke up as. He pushed his bangs down, using a little gel to keep them flat and throwing a hat on to help. He used a long bandage to bind his chest - he had to calm his breathing before doing it, because it brought back bad memories of his life - and used eyeshadow to color his pretty pink back into its muted teal. It wasn’t perfect, but it would hopefully be good enough to pass. He slipped on one of the only suits he hadn’t altered and grabbed a pair of sunglasses, hoping no one would question why he was covering his eyes.

Lastly, he summoned his trusty tommy gun, the weight of the metal in his hands comforting in an odd way.

Making his way downstairs, he wondered if he could really pull this off. It had been so long since he had to act as a Mafioso, let alone the boss. He had always been the lackey - the one being given orders and very rarely the one giving the orders. He would have to be hyper aware of every single muscle twitch, or else things could end badly.

“Ready ta go?” He asked, seeing Val and Vox waiting by the front door.

“Damn...” Valentino whistled, looking Angel up and down.

“You look the part alright,” Vox nodded. “Now, all you gotta do is act it.”

“Just lead the way,” Angel relaxed his face, raising a single eyebrow and letting his top lip curl the slightest bit. “Let’s do this.”

Valentino and Vox looked at each other, silently talking for a moment, before turning back to Angel and nodding. The three made their way from the hotel and stepped into a discrete black car that was idling in front of the building.

Angel watched the city pass by as they were driven to an unknown location. He realized he hadn’t told anyone where they were going, which gave him even more incentive to get through this without a single hiccup.

He sneered, the buildings far too similar to be comforting. He had seen a little bit of the city, when he went out shopping, but they were driving through a section of buildings that were far too familiar to him - the streets he used to wait on the corners of - where he would sell himself to pay a debt that never seemed to shrink, no matter how hard he worked. Now, they were different. He could see the lamp posts he would lean against, smoking and waiting for someone to pull up and call out a price, but they weren’t his lamp posts. They weren’t his corners. This wasn’t his Hell.

At least he wouldn’t have to fake his bad mood.

They left the city and began to drive towards the plains just outside of the pentagram, towards a large mansion in the middle of the desert. Angel had never seen this building before and wondered if it was something unique to this world. Pulling up to the front gate, he was surprised by the extravagance of everything, from the gold accents to the detailed carvings on all the walls. Walking up to the door, Angel took a breath and got himself ready.

Val knocked loudly, the sound audibly echoing through the house. It took a moment, but eventually small footsteps could be heard. A window about halfway down the door opened to show a pair of beady yellow eyes glaring up at them.

“What do you want?” The voice demanded.

“We’re here to see Pentious,” Val said pleasantly. Angel almost lost his composure for a moment when he heard the name - that snake was the last person he expected to be going to for help! “He owes Tony a favor and we’re here to collect.”

“You’re lucky the Boss never leaves his fucking lab...” The Eggboi muttered as he opened the door. They stepped into the parlor, and the first thing Angel noticed was how lonely it felt. No amount of expensive decorating can cover up the taste of isolation. “Come on, keep up, would you?”

They followed the Eggboi, who muttered under his breath the entire way. Other Eggbois watched from around doorframes and from the top of staircases, all staring at the three trespassers with distrust. Angel never though he would miss the brain-dead Eggs from his own world, but there he was wishing they were a little more... happy.

“Boss! Boss there are people here to see you.” The Eggboi knocked on a large wooden door. Another few moments passed before it creaked open and a head stuck itself out of the small crack.

“O-oh my,” Pentious stuttered, his eyes widening. “I knew thiss was coming... but I didn’t think it would be so sssoon...”

The three entered the room and saw it was more of a library than a lab, like Angel had been picturing ever since the Egg mentioned it. Sir Pentious turned to them, his shoulders hunched and his hands fiddling with a small machine, which he was probably working on before he had been interrupted.

“Pen, my friend,” Valentino grinned, the sharp smile growing at the snake’s chin sunk lower to his chest. “We’re here to cash in that little favor of ours.”

“What do you need?” He muttered, looking away. “I’m v-very busy.”

“We want those experimental paralyzing lazers you were working on.” Vox demanded, causing Pentious to reel back in shock.

“I put those away for good,” He hissed, eyes narrowing. “They’re too dangerous!”

“That’s the point, Pen.”

“No, I mean for everyone,” Pentious scowled. “If they recoil, then you’ll be hit too. They won’t just affect the people you’re trying to fight, they’ll affect the people you’re trying to protect as well.”

“Good thing you’re a genius with machinery, ain’t it?” Valentino laughed, but it was sharp and intimidating. “You can fix that by the end of the day, right?”

“End of the day!?” Pentious’ hood flared in shock, showing Angel the blue underside and the cool colored eyes that were all looking up towards the snake’s face in concern. “Are you mad? I can’t do it that quickly!”

“If you do this, you won’t have your debt to Anthony hanging over your head anymore.”

“A-at all?” Pentious relaxed a little.

“At all,” Vox confirmed. “If you do this, you’re free of us until you do something else that we need to save you from.”

“Hmm...” He hummed, tapping his chin with a talon as he ran through the logistics in his mind. Angel could see the conflict in his eyes - all of them. “I sssuppose I can try.”

“You better do more than just try.” Vox’s voice turned threatening.

“Did Molly finally get tired of waiting for your temper tantrum to end?” Pentious asked, his tone switching from soft to almost condescending. He met Angel’s eyes, and for a fleeting moment, Angel was afraid he had seen through their ruse.

A low growl filled the library, making the pupils of Pentious’ eyes shrink into slits - all of them. Angel curled his lip dangerously, showing off his fangs. He could see the shine from his golden tooth reflecting on Pentious’ cheek as he did so. As he tightened his grip on his gun, Pentious broke the tension.

“F-fine! Fine, no need to play big, scary mafia boss with me,” He muttered, looking away and scowling. “I’ll see what I can do, and I’ll deliver whatever I managed to get together before sunset. I can’t guarantee they’ll work perfectly though. If I had more time...”

“We don’t have time,” For the first time, there wasn’t much threat in Val’s words. “We ran out a few days ago.”

“I see... it’s that dire,” Pentious frowned, the tip of his tail flicking anxiously. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Shoo, out of my house! I can’t work with you staring at me!”

“We appreciate your cooperation.” Val grinned again.

“And if there ain’t a nice present on our doorstep by sundown, we know where to find you.” Vox grinned as well, but it was visibly more dangerous than Val’s.  
Pentious’ eyes narrowed but he knew better than to comment. He led them back to the front door, hanging back by Angel as Val and Vox walked ahead of them.

“I know you’re not Anthony,” He whispered. Angel felt his stomach give out but refused to let it show in his face or his gait. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to them.”

“How could ya tell?” Angel whispered back.

“Even in a bad mood, Anthony would never allow someone else to speak for him. He is very adamant about doing things himself,” Pentious smiled slightly. “He doesn’t like owing people anything, even the smallest of favors.”

“Well damn,” Angel huffed a little. “Guess I gotta do betta.”

“Who are you?”

“Ya wouldn’t believe me even if I told ya.” Angel slid his sunglasses down, letting the snake see the hot pink of his eyes.

“You’d be surprised.” Pentious gave him a leveled look.

“What if I said I was from another world?” Angel smirked, knowing Pentious wouldn’t buy the obvious lie - even if it was the truth. To Angel’s surprise, Pentious stopped moving completely, staring at the spider with wide, hopeful eyes.

“Sssso it’s true?” He breathed as he scrambled to catch up to Angel without alerting the other two to their conversation. “The multiple universe theory? It’s real?”

“Mm, sure as fuck is.”

“Oh this changes so much,” His voice wavered with how hard he was fighting back a wide grin. “If you survive whatever this is, please come visit me again! I’d love to know more - no, I NEED to know more.”

“If I survive? It’s a date.” Angel snickered as an Eggboi opened the front doors for them.

“Ready?” Vox asked, to which Angel just nodded. He thought it was mildly amusing how Pentious thought Val an Vox didn’t know he was an imposter.

“Thanks for your cooperation, Pentious,” Valentino nodded his head towards the snake, who frowned and looked away. “We won’t forget this.”

“Humph, you better not...” He trailed off, crossing his arms.

Angel nodded to Pentious as they left, and the snake gave him a soft smile in return, just as the door closed them off. As they walked back to the car, Angel wondered if Pentious would have been a friend in this world.

Not to Anthony, it seemed, but maybe to Angel.

“What were you talking about?” Val asked once they were back on the road.

“Oh, he was just warnin’ me ta fix my Tony impression before ya caught on ta me bein’ an imposta.” Angel snickered as Val and Vox both panicked.

“He knew?”

“How could he tell?”

“He wasn’t mad,” Angel waved their concerns off. “If anything, he was excited.”

“He’s a weird fucking demon....”

“Ain’t that the truth...”

Angel looked out the window as silence fell over them. He had a lot to think about on the way back to the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! Initially, Pentious was going to be Trevor, but I realized AFTER writing the entire exchange that Pentious would make more sense for what they wanted from him XD Now the real tension starts to build! We're so close to the top of the rollercoaster y'all!
> 
> Thank you everyone for reading and enjoying up to this point! I know 2P aus aren't the most popular, but I'm having so much fun with this one, and I'm really proud of how it's turning out, so it makes me super happy that people are enjoying this~


	7. All that's Left is Rubble

“Angel, come here.” Charlie said the next day. As per their ‘request’, there was a box sitting on their doorstep before sundown, and they had the lazers set before Vox and Val left for the evening. Angel, though they had a good trip together, was almost glad to see them go, the pressure in his chest finally letting up enough for him to breathe. He had just finished dragging the box into the parlor when he was called.

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t move. It wasn’t until her eyes started to burn with actual fire that he groaned and shuffled to his feet.

“Whadda want?”

“Follow me.” She said, turning on her heel, not waiting to see if Angel would follow. He did, of course, but he scowled the entire time. They entered the library, which was completely empty of patrons. Angel could almost hear his breathing bouncing off the silent shelves. She led him towards the desk.

“What’s this about Toots?” He asked, slumping in the chair across from her.

“I was researching spells that could be used to fortify the hotel,” She said, sounding tense. She flipped through a book that was sitting on the desk, the pages yellowed with age and the words obviously hand written with what looked to be a dark blue ink. She continued, stopping at the place where the ribbon bookmark sat. “I found some things that could help, but I also found something interesting.”

“Oh?”

“Just... take a look.” She spun the book around. Angel stood and peered over the pages, scanning whatever it was she was showing him.

His eyes widened.

_The multiple universe theory has been around for ages, but there has been very little solid evidence into it’s true existence. Tests have been run for centuries, yet only I have managed to find conclusive, concrete evidence towards the truth. The following is my real-time experience with my experiments, annotated. (Note for future me, annotate in different colored ink. Less confusing going back to read.)_

The book continued on, rambling about a supposedly successful way to contact an alternate dimension. Angel felt his heart pounding against his ribs, barely able to make sense of the scribbled writing.

According to the book, he needed something of importance that may have the same significance in the other world. His mind instantly shot to the radio sitting innocently next to his bed. He hadn’t touched it since the night he fruitlessly tried contacting Al, but if this book had any truth to it, that was his best bet.

“What do you think?” Charlie asked, watching his face morph through a flurry of emotions.

“If this works... it might be my key ta gettin’ home,” he whispered. “But if it fails... then there goes my only chance.”

“If we survive whatever the fuck Madam E has planned for us, we can look into this some more.” Charlie said with a sigh. Angel could tell the woman was more stressed than usual, seeing how they hadn’t been a single biting insult thrown his way this entire time.

“I gotta-” Angel felt his words catch in this throat.

“Get out of my sight,” Charlie snapped. “And take the fucking book with you.”

Angel snatched the book, keeping a hand in between the pages to hold his place as he raced up the stairs. He rushed past someone, but he didn’t catch what they said to him.

Kicking the door to his bedroom, he heard the knob slam into the drywall, the momentum making it swing back and click into place.

He dropped the book onto his bed, opening it to the right page and grabbed the radio, anxiety bubbling up in his chest. Radio in hand, Angel paused.

What if this didn’t work? He would be absolutely crushed if this failed, because this was the only chance he had at that moment. He didn’t mind if he couldn’t go home immediately, because he was still in the mindset of helping defend the hotel, but he wanted some sort of contact - some sort of SOMETHING that lets him know that his world still exists.

That his world wasn’t just a figment of his imagination - that his universe is real.

He collapsed to his knees and placed the radio on his floor, turning the dials to face him as he used another set of hands to grab the book. He scanned the pages, his throat closing up as the possibilities swam through his mind. So much could go wrong.

Using his silk, he formed a circle on the hardwood floor, sticking the strands to the ground to keep it in place. The book said to use chalk, but he didn’t have any on hand. He used smaller sections of silk to form the symbols written on the pages. His fingers didn’t stick to the strands, which made it easy to form the symbols. He was reminded of the times that Charlie would use thin blue paper-like tape to form designs while she repainted the walls.

His hands shook as he laid the last few pieces of silk. He was so close to making contact with his home. His Alastor.

At first, nothing happened. He double checked the book, trying to see if he somehow made a mistake somewhere, or if he missed a step, but as far as he could see he had followed the instructions perfectly. There was no incantation, or words to say. There were no hidden runes or symbols.

“What th’ fuck did I do wrong?” His voice shook. Everything was right! Why wasn’t it working!?

His blood froze in his veins when he heard a faint crackling. HIs eyes flew to the radio, sitting unplugged in the center of the silk circle. Time seemed to stand still as he watched, begging whatever entities that might have been listening to a poor sinner that he hadn’t just imagined it.

The front panel lit up red for a split second before falling dark again. Angel jerked forward, reaching for the radio with shaking hands, only to feel a painful shock on his hand as the red electricity shot from the radio to his outstretched fingers. He pulled back, holding his buzzing hand against his chest as he stared at the radio.

It started flickering, red lights blinking before falling dark only to blink to life again. The dials were turning themselves, left to right and back again almost violently. The static coming from the speakers was jerky and chopped.

“An... ca... me... Ster...”

“Alastor?” Angel fell forward, gripping the radio tightly despite the electricity running up his arms. “Al? Smiles? Can you- can you hear me!?”

“Y.... li....tr.....find...”

“P-please! Al!” He sobbed, holding the radio close to his face, as if proximity would help the faint transmission.

“Safe-”

“Al please-” Angel was cut off when the radio gave a spike of electricity, burning out the lights and sending a puff of smoke up into the air. He stared at the silent radio, the wood cool as though it had never been on in the first place.

He could feel a sob catching in his throat, but he was almost too scared to open his mouth. He knew if he gave into his emotions in that moment, he wouldn’t be able to reign it in on his own.

“A-Al... p-please...” His voice cracked painfully. He felt his hands spasming from the shocks from the radio but he paid it no mind. “Please...”

The radio was silent.

Angel felt the sob break through his defenses, doubling over with the device held tight against his chest. He keened loudly, too distraught to even cry properly. He shook and whimpered, his tears soaking his fur.

Like a rubberband, Angel felt something in him snap. His whimpers turned into wails as he squeezed the radio tightly. He faintly heard splintering wood, but he didn’t care. It hadn’t worked. He hadn’t been able to talk to Alastor.

It failed. He failed.

He really was going to be stuck here for the rest of his eternity, wasn’t he?

He rocked back and forward gently, his claws digging into the wood of the radio, leaving gouges in the finish. He felt so alone. He was all alone in this universe that didn’t fit. It didn’t fit in the same way that the costumes Val put him in didn’t quite fit. He didn’t belong there and no matter how long he stayed there, he would never belong.

Angel would never belong fully in this world. For the rest of his existence, there was going to be an unbreakable veil separating him from everyone and everything else. Nothing he did was going to allow him to slide into this world perfectly. He would always feel slightly uneven, like a puzzle piece that just barely doesn’t fit into the puzzle.

He wished Fat Nuggets was there. The pig always knew exactly what to do when he was upset, but Fat Nuggets wasn’t there. Fat Nuggets didn’t exist.

The feeling in his chest was like how he felt before getting Fat Nuggets - before going to the hotel and finding his little makeshift family. The hopelessness began to settle into his bones, taking away his will to stand. He slumped, only being propped up by the side of his bed. His tears soaked into his comforter, his sobs trailing off into pained whimpers.

A realization hit him, and it forced a strangled laugh out of him.

The pain. The black hole feeling in the center of his chest. The hopelessness that’s drowning him and pulling him under. The gaping darkness that was starting to fill his mind, taking away any thought he might have had before he even had it. The bone tiredness that kept him cemented to the floor.

It was all so familiar to him. It was so familiar that it made his chest ache as though he had broken a rib. This was how he survived. This was what he felt every moment of every day, his every waking moment filled with the feeling of worthlessness.

He laughed harder, the sobs in between making him cough and gag. This was the first time since coming to this world that he felt completely, entirely, and one hundred percent like himself.

The real Angel Dust is the one that’s hopeless, and worthless, and unable to move. The real Angel Dust was an emotionless doll to be played with and posed. The real Angel Dust didn’t deserve to be happy.

He felt his breathing pick up as the edges of his vision began to blur and blacken. The sickly cloying scent of blood reached his nose and he gagged again. He must have ripped his fingers apart with the sharp edges of the gouged wood.

He could almost smell the red smoke that followed Val around, that forced its way into his system and kept him drugged and complacent, like the aftershocks of an earthquake.

He could feel hands on him, phantom fingers digging into fur and clawing into skin. He could feel it all, but he didn’t care.

This was what he deserved.

To be alone. To hurt. To be scared. It’s all he ever knew. It’s the only thing that made him comfortable. It was all he was familiar with.

Angel passed out, his breathing whistling and the radio still desperately clutched to his chest.

* * *

“Hey Angel! We’re thinking of having a game night tonight,” Husk called over to the spider, who was sitting on a couch facing one of the perpetually lit fireplaces listlessly. Angel didn’t even blink to acknowledge the other demon. “I know we’re all kinda tense, but there really isn’t anything else to do but wait and what better way to pass the time than a game night?”

“I don’t think he’s in the mood...” Vaggie whispered, noticing how quiet Angel was being.

“Are you not feeling well?” Husk’s ears pressed down. “I can make some soup!”

“I don’t think that’s going to-” Vaggie was cut off by Husk reaching forward and grabbing Angel’s wrist. He tugged the spider out of the parlor and towards the kitchens, and Angel didn’t bother to fight it. He was too tired. His arms were too heavy.

“Sit here while I work,” Husk chirrped, his bright blue eyes sparkling. Angel could see little stars reflecting in them as he did as he was told, sliding into one of the island stools.

He rested his chin on the top of the granite countertop, not caring that the cold stone was leeching the warmth from his fur. “Thankfully we just restocked everything! We were starting to run low on a lot of supplies.”

Husk hummed as he danced around the kitchen, his padded feet making almost no noise as he dashed from one end of the room to the other. He gathered vegetables in his arms before dumping them on the cutting board, and pulled at least a dozen spices down from the cabinet.

Angel watched without saying a word. Part of him wished he could get up and help Husk with the soup - he loved to cook, and he found he loved cooking with the pastel demon in particular - but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He felt like his body had been filled with cement and he was trapped in that seat for the rest of his afterlife.

Soon, Angel noticed that there was a layer behind Husk’s humming. He turned his head slightly to see a figure standing in the doorway. Alastor caught Angel’s eye and gave him a hesitant smile. The song playing through his radio waves was upbeat, and it seemed to be one that Husk knew well, because the cat started using the ladle as a microphone.

“Good afternoon, mon ange,” Alastor said as he took the seat next to Angel. “I see our dear Husker is making some soup. Are you feeling unwell?”

Angel just looked at him, his tongue too heavy to speak. Alastor seemed to sense this, because he began to gently rub Angel’s back, his fingers barely catching on his spine. Angel leaned into the touch slightly, trying to bring himself to say something - anything! - to the demons who were actively trying to comfort him.

“Here, take my hand,” Alastor said, breaking the silence. Angel blinked at him for a moment, taking his time to gather the strength to do as he was asked. He placed his hand on top of Al’s, letting their fingers wrap around each other. “Do you know how to dance, my dear?”

“Uh... lil bit.” Angel admitted. It had been a long time since he tried, but he did have some experience.

“Perfect!” Al pulled him to the more open part of the kitchen. He snapped his fingers and the music started playing again, this time a little louder. Angel was surprised to hear a song that he actually knew from his life, seeing how in his universe that genre quickly went out of style in favor of clubbing music. “Anthony was very fond of music from our era, so I thought it might cheer you up as well!”

For the first time, Angel didn’t feel a stab of guilt at the mention of his other self. He let himself be moved to the music, almost surprised that Al was able to swing him around so sturdily and skillfully.

“Did ya go dancin’ a lot in your life?” Angel asked once the cement block on his chest had started to lighten.

“While I didn’t dance often, I did frequent speakeasies when I could,” Alastor’s grin widened as Angel started getting into the movements. “My mother would encourage me to go out occasionally. There were times when I was turned away because they thought I was too young, but there were a few venues that learned my face.”

“One good thing ‘bout being in th’ Family was that we neva had ta worry about runnin’ outta booze,” Angel smiled a little. “We had our own guys makin’ it just outside a’ th’ city and we’d sell it to the bars.”

“Hey! I wanna dance with Angel too!” Husk chimed in, slipping in between the two and butting Al out of the way with his wings. He happily took Angel’s hand and started twirling the taller demon around, the moves having no real tempo or pattern but had Angel laughing nonetheless.

Husk only gave Angel back to Alastor when the pot on the stove began to boil. Angel giggled as he was twirled back into Al’s arms, bumping into the deer’s chest as arms wrapped around his thin waist. He stumbled some, Alastor holding him tightly to keep him from falling completely. Angel leaned into Al’s warmth, his chest lighter than it had been all day.

“Soup’s ready!” Husk called, placing two bowls onto the kitchen island. Before Angel could take a sip, he was being handed buttered bread as well. It had been a long time since someone had made him homemade soup, and even though he had never really been a fan of chicken noodle, there was something about this that made him tear up.

“Angel?” Alastor asked, noticing the look on the other’s face almost immediately.

“Is it not good?” Husk asked, sitting across from them. His eyes turned down, the reflections turning into water droplet shapes. “I can make something else-”

“Nah,” Angel cut him off with a watery chuckle. “It’s... it’s great. I just... I guess I’m not use ta people lookin’ out fa me like this... the last time someone made me soup was back when I was alive.”

“That’s so long ago.” Husk’s frown deepened.

“I had gotten sick, cuz I took too long on an errand fa Pops,” Angel stirred his soup gently, mixing up the chunks of vegetables and chicken. “Molls... she made me soup and forced me ta stay in bed ‘till my fever went down. She couldn’t always be there when I was sick, so I had ta go through all a’ that on my own.”

“Your other family members didn’t take care of you?” Husk asked in a hushed voice.

“My Pops hated me,” Angel gave a helpless chuckle. “Ma cared, but she died pretty early on in my life. My olda brotha did his best, but he was about as emotionally stunted as Pops was. Molls was the only person who really cared about me... she might a’ been th’ only one ta give a rat’s ass if I even fuckin’ woke up in th’ morning...”

“Angel...” Husk sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

“It don’t matta anymore,” Angel tried to brush it off, but the air was still heavy. “It ain’t like I can change the past.”

“We can’t change the past,” Husk said softly, putting his spoon down. Before Angel knew what was happening, there were arms around him. Husk held him tightly, burying his face in the spider’s back. “But we can change the future. We can make the future whatever we want.”

“Can we?” Angel stared down at his bowl.

“Mm, we can.” Husk’s words vibrated through Angel’s chest.

Could he? Could he change his future? Could he find a way to fit in here, in this world where nothing made sense? Could he survive in a universe where Molly and Cherri were his enemies?

Maybe it wouldn’t be too awful. Maybe - just maybe - he could find a home here.

“Would ya hate me?” Angel whispered. He felt Husk’s arms tense around his middle. “If I have ta stay?”

“Why would we hate you?” Husk asked. Angel could feel the heat from his breath soaking into the fabric of his jacket.

“If ya never get Anthony back,” Angel was afraid to look at them. He was afraid to see their anger, or their anguish. “If ya can neva get rid a’ me, and Tony is just... gone foreva...”

“If that happens...” Al trailed off, looking away. Angel could hear the conflict in his voice and it made his chest ache.

“If that happens,” Husk continued. “Then it’s not your fault. You had nothing to do with coming here, and if we can’t get you back home again, it isn’t your fault at all.”

“But-”

“Are we going to miss Anthony?” Husk continued, a sad smile on his face. “Of course we will. He’s a part of our family as much as anyone else in this hotel is, but you didn’t do this on purpose. You didn’t take his place to spite him.”

“I don’t...”

“If we cannot get our Anthony back, then we will mourn his loss but we will not turn fingers in your direction,” Alastor’s voice was hushed. Angel had a sudden vision of being blamed - of the others screaming at him, calling him a killer. “It’ll take some time to... come to terms with the fact that Anthony would not be returning to us, but it wouldn’t be your fault in the slightest, mon ange.”

Angel hummed, but he refused to meet either of their gazes. He sipped at his soup, dipping the bread into the broth to keep his hands busy so he wouldn’t give away how badly his mind was whirling with premeditated guilt. How would he be able to look anyone in the eye if he basically killed their friend? How could he live in the hotel, knowing he was the reason Anthony no longer existed?

“Th’ soup was amazin’ Husk,” He said, breaking the silence. “Thanks fa makin’ it.”

“Anytime Angel!” The cat grinned at him, but the concern in his eye sent another stab of guilt through Angel’s chest. “I can make something else tomorrow if you want!”

“Maybe,” He gave a weak smile. “I, uh, I think I’m gonna take a nap or somethin’. I’m feelin’ real drained.”

“If there’s anything we can do...” Al trailed off.

“I’ll letcha know.” Angel’s smile was slightly more believable..

As he walked out of the kitchen, he could feel Al and Husk’s eyes on him. Self-conscious, he wrapped his arms around his waist and chest, trying to find some comfort in the pseudo-embrace. His lungs felt like they were being crushed under the weight of his unfortunate reality. He had no idea what he was going to do.

His room was the same as he had left it, silk circle and symbols dried onto the floors and the broken radio cast off to the side. The feelings from the evening before came crashing back down onto him, making him want to throw the damn radio out of the window. It was going to be a bitch to scrape the silk off the wood, but if Molly did end up attacking the hotel it wouldn’t really matter how much of a mess his room was, because everything would be reduced to smouldering rubble, not even a skeleton of a building left.

He slid onto the floor, his back resting against his bed, his knees drawn up to his chest - as much as he normally adored how long his body was, in that moment he wished he was small, so hiding from everything would be easier.

An explosion sounded on the other side of the city, just close enough to barely hear the echoes. Angel wondered if it was Cherri - or worse, Molly.

He wanted to cry, because he knew if he did he would feel drained physically, but he would be able to sleep better. He wouldn’t have to worry about nightmares again. It was just his luck, however, that his eyes seemed to be dry for the first time in days. It was as if every ounce of emotion had drained out of him, or evaporated entirely, leaving him a dried shell of what he once was.

“....gel?” Static seemed to come alive. Angel’s breath caught in his throat.

“A-Al?” He was almost afraid to look. If it wasn’t true, he would be crushed.

“Ang.... hear me?” It was definitely Al’s voice, coming from the cracked radio. Red lights shone through the breaks in the wood, almost as if the other demon was actually inhabiting it like a ghost.

“Al! Holy fuck!” Angel scrambled over to where he had thrown the radio the night before, picking it up carefully in shaking hands. There was a break in the static, the room falling silent for just a beat before coming back, but in that moment Angel thought his heart had stopped.

“Angel... thank Lucifer...” Al sounded tinny, and Angel was having trouble understanding him, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that he was talking to Alastor again.

“You have no idea how much I miss ya!” Angel laughed as tears splashed down. “Holy fuck... I can’t believe it’s actually you.”

“I don’t know how long this connection will last,” Al almost sounded... frantic. “I need you to.... Are....”

“What?” Angel shook the radio. “Al? You’re breaking up.”

“Where are you?” His voice came through clearer this time.

“Some fucked up opposite world,” Angel shook his head a little. “Al, everythin’s so messed up ‘ere. Everyone’s th’ exact opposite a’ home.”

“Don’t worry love....” More static. “...find you..... Home.... please....”

“Wait,” Angel’s stomach dropped. “Don’t go! Al!”

“It’ll be okay...” His words were getting fainter. “Don’t give.... Mon ange... please...”

“Al!” he sobbed, shaking the radio harder. Bits and pieces of the mechanics inside were starting to bounce out through the cracks, scattering across the floor. “Don’t go! Please! Don’t fuckin’ leave me again-”

He cut himself off with a pained keening when the radio went dark. No matter how much he shook it, the red light didn’t come back. In a fit of anguish, he threw the radio at the door, shattering the wood beyond recognition. The hardwood floor was harsh and unforgiving under his limbs as he curled into a ball.

So close... he had been so close. Alastor had been RIGHT THERE but whatever he had done to reach Angel had failed, and left the spider alone once more.

There was a hesitant knock at the door. Angel felt a surge of rage flood his system. How dare they try to comfort him? After everything he’s done? After everything he’s gone through? When will they learn that he deserved this?

“Angel? Are you alright?” Al asked, his voice muffled through the wood. It was wrong - he was wrong. He was the wrong Al, but he sounded so similar to the right one. He sounded so familiar, but he wasn’t. “I heard a crash. Are you hurt?”

“LEAVE ME TH’ FUCK ALONE,” He screamed towards the door, his voice cracking as he choked on his own words. “JUST LEAVE ME- j-just leave me alone!”

He broke down. He didn’t want to see Al - to see the look in his blue eyes that told Angel that he knew he wasn’t who the spider wanted. He didn’t want to see the concern and the confusion and the guilt, and he didn’t want Al to see.

To see him in such a state. To see the contempt in his pink eyes, despite how hard he was trying not to hate him. It wasn’t Alastor’s fault he was stuck in this mess, but he couldn’t help but be angry because this Alastor wasn’t right. He wasn’t Angel’s Alastor, and Angel didn’t know how to cope with the tsunami of emotions inside of him, threatening to snap him in two like a dry twig.

“Alright...” Alastor sounded hurt. It just made Angel’s chest burn more. “If you need anything... you know where to find me, I suppose.”

Angel knew he should respond - should apologize, possibly even beg for forgiveness because he KNEW what he did was wrong, but he found he couldn’t. He found he was unable to call out to Al, even as the sound of his heeled footsteps faded away. Angel was stuck in his curled up position on the floor, and he doubted he would ever be able to get up again.

Maybe this was what he deserved. Maybe he should just... give himself up to Molly - at least that way he would be able to see her once last time before finding out if double death really was an option for a sinner like him.

The thought of dying a second time didn’t frighten him as much as it should, but the realization didn’t make much of a dent in his turmoil.

Angel closed his sore eyes, telling himself he would rest them for just a moment before crawling into his bed. The floor was cold and hard, but he just couldn’t stand yet. He couldn’t do a lot of things, so instead he fell asleep on the floor, surrounded by dried silk and shards of wooden radio.

* * *

“Fuckin’ dicks...” Angel groaned, cracking his eyes open. He sat up in his bed, the blankets falling from his shoulders and pooling around his slim waist. He didn’t remember going to bed, but then again it seemed like the night before was one long, emotionally upsetting dream, where he had talked to-

He sat up straighter and whipped his head around, only to completely deflate. There were no shards of wood and springs, or dried silk circles on the floor. The outdated radio sat on his bedside table, completely intact, as if nothing had ever happened. His stomach dropped through the floor.

Had it really been just a dream? There was no sign that any of it actually happened. He could have sworn he at least tried to contact his own world through the book Charlie gave him, but the book was gone, as were any signs of the failed ritual, so maybe he really did just imagine it all. Maybe he really was so pathetic that he dreamed up the entire thing, start to finish.

“Ha... I’m that desperate, huh?” He laughed bitterly. “Dreamin’ a’ talkin’ ta’ Al...”

His eyes began to burn. He just wanted to go home, but it seemed with every passing day that this was his new reality. Whatever sent him to this backwards universe intended him to suffer there. He didn’t know what he did to deserve this as his Hell. Being under Val seemed punishment enough, but there was something about being in this world that was almost worse - at least with Val, Angel had an idea of what was going to come. Here, every single day brought some new bullshit he wouldn’t have been able to predict.

“Angel?” A knock came from his door. “May I come in?”

“Yea...” He said just barely loud enough for Alastor to hear him. The deer slipped into the room, closing the door carefully behind him. He looked at Angel as though he were expecting the spider to either attack him or burst into tears.

“How are you feeling?” Al asked, standing by the door.

“Tired,” It wasn’t a lie. “Kinda just wanna sleep for a few more centuries.”

“She hasn’t called it yet, but I know Miss Charlotte is planning on gathering everyone for another battle strategy meeting soon,” Al’s ears pressed against his head, but Angel could see how hard the other demon was trying to keep his face relaxed and his voice light. “Um, I was hoping we could talk before that.”

“Talk ‘bout what?” He asked as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He looked down at his bare feet, the same feeling of icy apathy spreading through his chest. He used to hate his feet, but it didn’t really matter here, did it? It wasn’t like he was being filmed for anything. It wasn’t like there was anyone to judge him.

“Maybe not talk so much as...” He trailed off for a moment before sighing. “I just... I don’t know what the next few days are going to hold for us, and I wish to find comfort with you before we possibly...”

“Come here.” Angel sat back again, his shoulders against the headboard of the bed. Al blinked before nodding and crawling onto Angel’s lap. Angel’s arms instantly wrapped around the smaller demon, holding him tightly as Al hid his face in the spider’s sleep-warmed fur. They sat in silence for a moment before the sound of muffled cries filled the room.

Angel’s throat closed. He knew Alastor was strong - he used his large, sparkling eyes to catch people off guard, but he wasn’t the type to genuinely cry very often, yet there he was, sobbing into Angel’s chest. After a while, the shaking calmed.

“If nothing else...” He whispered, his voice rough. Angel had to strain to hear him. “I’m glad we were able to meet. Even if it were under such... unfortunate circumstances.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I got ta meet all a’ ya too,” He chuckled lightly. “Neva thought I’d get on so good with Vags or Husker but ‘ere we are.”

“Sorry for crying on you,” Al seemed to slump into Angel’s arms more. “I suppose I just...”

“You don’t gotta apologize.”

“I just... I tried to keep myself level but I guess this whole situation finally hit me fully and I just cracked under it,” He sighed. “The idea of never being able to speak to Anthony again... never be able to see him smile again... I c-can’t stop choking up. Every time I think that this might be my eternity, I begin to cry.”

“I’m so fuckin’ sorry Al,” Angel’s own eyes stung painfully. He had already been beating himself up, but there had been something about Alastor telling him that they wouldn’t blame him and that it wasn’t his fault that kept him from letting the guilt completely consume him. He didn’t realize this situation was ripping Alastor apart even worse. “Ya didn’t deserve this shit.”

“Even if I can’t have my Anthony back, I know I’m lucky to have you,” Alastor murmured, his voice muffled. “You give me the same sense of comfort he does- he did.”

“Al...” Angel felt his heart shattering.

“Just... let’s stay like this for a while,” Alastor’s hot breath warmed the skin under Angel’s fur. Normally the sensation made him very uncomfortable but in this moment he found he didn’t mind it all that much - in fact, it was grounding. “Stay like this while we can...”

“Okay,” Angel pressed a kiss to the top of Al’s head. “Just for a lil’ bit.”

Angel counted the beat of Alastor’s heart beating against his own chest. It was like a song, slightly too fast. He could feel his own heart begin to fall into rhythm with Al’s, every couple of thumps in time with Al before falling out of pattern again. He could feel his eyes growing heavy - Alastor was so warm, and the other demon’s weight on his chest was surprisingly comforting.

As he started to doze off, there was an explosion. Angel jumped so high that he threw Al not only off his chest but off the bed entirely.

“What the fuck!?” He shouted, his head ringing from the sheer volume of the explosion, the building shaking slightly. It hadn’t been at the hotel directly, but it was close.

“We’re out of time.” Alastor was already at the door. Throwing it open, Angel could hear the frantic shouting through the building. Angel and Alastor ran down the hallway towards the front lobby. He didn’t even realize he was still barefoot until he stepped on some glass from a picture frame that had been shaken off the wall and shattered onto the floor. He hissed at the sudden spike of pain but didn’t stop.

“LET’S GO!” Charlie screamed as they ran around. “GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!”

“What happened?” Husk came scrambling, his fur puffed completely out.

“SHE’S HERE!” Charlie caught on fire for a moment, revealing her full demon form - her horns longer and sharper than what Angel was familiar with. The front door blew open, the wood splintering and shooting towards them like bullets. Angel ducked behind a wall just in time to avoid being impaled by the shards.

“YOU GUYS GOTTA GO-” Angel could hear Val’s voice, but the ringing in his head was only getting worse. “IT’S NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT!”

“What does he mean?” Angel shouted towards Alastor, who was standing on guard, his eyes trained on the door. Valentino and Vox stumbled into the lobby and Angel felt his stomach flip.

They were in bad shape. Val was missing an arm, his fourth shoulder nothing more than a bloody, twitching stump, and Vox was missing more than half of the glass from his screen. A second explosion sounded, close enough to see the light casting shadows on the buildings across the street. He had a feeling he knew what was going to happen next, if there were any similarities between his Cherri and the one he knew was attacking them.

Angel lurched forward, grabbing Val’s arm with one hand and Vox’s in another, throwing all three of them to the ground just as a bomb arced over their heads. The casing hit the far wall above the front desk, and they only had a beat to drop before the front desk was turned into sawdust. Angel hissed as a chunk of wood shot from the explosion and sliced his upper arm, the blood instantly soaking into his fur.

“Oh my, what a quaint little building!” A sickeningly familiar voice cooed from the open doorway. Angel suddenly felt weightless. Molly stepped through the rubble, Cherri close behind her. “It’s definitely going to make a nice addition to my neighborhood.”

Angel couldn’t help but stare. Angel’s Molly had enormous pink hair and the brightest eyes in the underworld. This Molly’s hair was just as long, but was pulled back in a loose braid that lay down her back, the blue complimenting the cool tones of her skin. Her face was open and bright, as if she were going on a walk through a nice park. That’s probably what hurt the most - how her voice and expressions were so achingly familiar. This wasn’t like Charlie or Husk, who were polar opposites of their red counterparts.

No, this world’s Molly was so similar to Angel’s that he began to wonder if he had been hit in the head.

Maybe this entire world was just the product of a grave head injury.

“Ah! You were right Niss,” She giggled. Another form stepped through the rubble that was once the hotel’s front doors. Arackniss looked around apathetically, almost as though he were too bored to have a real reaction to the damage. “Tony was here the whole time!”

It was in that moment that Angel realized all eyes were trained on him. He met Molly’s gaze, the horror mounting in his gut. He saw the change in her face when she made a realization.

“Get ‘im and let’s go,” Arackniss said, voice low and monotone. “This ain’t worth our time.”

“Wait,” She put a hand out, making Arackniss and Cherri freeze in their step. “That ain’t our Tony.”

“The fuck ya talkin’ bout?” Arackniss sneered slightly. “Who else would it be?”

“Look closely, dumbass,” She hissed, her face still lit up in a cute smile despite the warning tone in her voice. “Since when was Tony... pink?”

“Th’ fuck?” Arackniss glared at Angel, squinting to see the taller spider through the settling dust.

“Now the question is...” Molly giggled, swinging her arms a little as she walked right up to her brother. Angel felt Vox and Val scramble away but found he was pinned to the ground, like a spider in a frame. Molly leaned down a little and placed a gentle hand under Angel’s chin before digging her fingers into his cheeks and jerking his head up. “Who the fuck are you? And where is my fucking brother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Life has been super hectic with school and everything, but at least I'm getting out of that funk and am able to write again when I have the time. Only two more chapters of this, and maybe a second chapter for the Husk-centric fic I vent wrote a little bit ago, and then I can start planning/working on new plot!  
> I had an idea for an AU but it would take a lot of planning, so maybe I'll start fucking around with that here and there to see if anything really comes from it.  
> Thank you all so much for reading up until this point! I'm super pumped for the ending because I think it's pretty clever :3


	8. The Final Battle

Angel knew this wasn’t going to end well. There wasn’t a single way for this to end any sort of well, but he was going to try to salvage it as best as possible.

“Uh, hey there Molls...” He chuckled awkwardly, his arm throbbing where the chunk of debris had sliced through his skin. Molly froze for a moment before her sickly sweet smile sharpened.

“Ya have till th’ count a three before I pump ya full a lead,” She said with a giggle, and even Arackniss shied back behind her. “So who. Are. You? One...”

“It’s kind of a long story-”

“Two...” Her grin turned feral, her eyes starting to glow in the dust of the wreckage.

Angel had to think quick. He knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun her at that moment, seeing how when he pulled Val and Vox aside he slammed his hip into the ground hard. He doubted he would be able to stand without his leg buckling for at least an hour or so. As a last ditch effort, he opened his mouth again.

“When we was five, Pops tried ta make us sleep in a different room from Ari and ya pitched a fit cuz ya couldn’t sleep without both a us with ya,” He babbled, praying to whatever sick entity was looking down on him that his and Anthony’s pasts lined up enough for him to pull this off. Molly froze, her eyes widening a fraction. “Y-ya made me a cake on my eleventh birthday cuz Ma was in the hospital and Pops had taken Ari out on a mission. We was too young ta go with ‘im but he already started trainin’ me.”

“Angel, what-?” Val cut himself off with a painful sounding cough. Angel saw him wipe the red on his hand on his ruined jacket. There was so much it looked like he was back in his scarlet coat again.

“Angel?” Molly tilted her head to the side.

“A-and when I tried crossdressin’ for th’ first time, ya helped me hide th’ shit so Pops wouldn’t find it and skin me-”

“AIN’T NO ONE SUPPOSED TA KNOW ABOUT THAT,” She roared, her eyes burning in rage. “WHO THE FUCK ARE YA!?”

“What’s ‘e talkin’ ‘bout Molls?” Arackniss asked, standing up a little straighter. He had been prepared to blow off whatever the Fake Anthony was going to say, but the thing with the switching bedrooms had actually happened, as did the time with the cake, but it was Molly’s reaction to the last part that told him something was wrong.

“I swore ta Tony that no one, livin’ or dead, would find out about that,” She hissed and narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?”

“Did I dress like a girl?” Angel asked, wanting one last piece to the puzzle that was his other existence. Molly went pale, the gun in her hand trembling faintly.

“You’re dead.” She whispered, pointing the barrel at his face. Just as she was pulling the trigger, Angel felt himself being thrown to the ground. There was a bang, a hole forming right where his head had been a breath ago, but he was being caged between three arms. Val looked up at Molly, a snarl curling his lip up. Angel saw how his bottom lip was split.

“Tony was a tranny?” Arackniss asked, not sounding angry in the slightest. Both Angel and Molly whipped their head towards him.

“Don’t call ‘im that-”

“Don’t fucking call me that-”

They spoke over each other, freezing when they realized what they had done. When they spoke at the same time, it was even clearer how similar they sounded to one another.

“There ain’t nothin’ wrong with wantin’ ta be yaself,” Angel hissed, pushing Val aside and stumbling to his feet. His hip throbbed painfully, but it didn’t feel like his femur was broken anymore. He thanked Lucifer for how quickly demons healed. “Molls was th’ only one who neva treated me wrong cuz a who I wanted ta be...”

“I’ve had enough of this,” Molly’s voice was strained. To the untrained eye, her face was impassive and apathetic, but Angel could see the glint of panic in her large, blue eyes.

“Cherri, make sure not a single one of these lowlives makes it out alive. I can’t have any of them knowing about this.”

“Molls-” Arackniss said almost warningly. Molly swung around to glare at her older brother.

“We’re going to have a nice long talk when we get ‘ome,” She gave him a sharp smile and Angel saw the smaller spider’s fur puff up in fear. “I can’t kill ya, cuz you’re family, but

I can make sure ya neva have the chance ta blab about this ta anyone.”

Before Arackniss could respond, Cherri stepped forward. The differences were even clearer up close, and even knowing that this wasn’t HIS Cherri, Angel still felt like he had been hit in the stomach with a baseball bat. She scanned the room blankly, noting where all the weak points were in the building. In a flash, she was pulling a bomb out and throwing it towards the chandelier that hung over the staircase. In an instant, the ceiling was crumbling down.

"Damn Pentious," Vox shouted. "Good for nothing lasers didn't do SHIT-" 

“Look out!” Angel screamed, his leg on fire as he darted towards Husk, who was standing with his weight against a wall. His left wing was limp at his side and his one eye was swollen shut. Angel’s arms wrapped around his waist just as a support beam came crashing down. For a single beat, Angel lost himself in the warmth and comfort of Husk’s soft fur - the same fur that he had buried his face in when things got too stressful or when the world got too much to handle. The same fur that kept him warm when he was trying to fight off nightmares and phantom withdrawals, left over from his own world. The same fur that was now matted and smelled of iron.

“Oh I don’t think so, you BITCH.” Charlie screamed, blue hellfire shooting up from the debris. Molly and Arackniss barely blinked, but Cherri yelped as she jumped back, the end of her ponytail smouldering a sickly blue-tinted smoke. Charlie shot her hand out, commanding a column of hellfire to burn where the three were standing.

Vaggie darted forward, her spear ready and a grim look on her face. For the first time since he had woken up in this world, she looked almost exactly like the Vaggie that Angel knew. She swiped at Cherri with the angelic spear, clipping her arm. Blood instantly soaked into the fabric of her sleeve but it didn’t heal instantly, as any other graze of that size would have. She would have to wait a human amount of time for it to heal - if she survived, that is.

Angel felt Husk being pulled away from him and panicked, holding onto the cat as if his life depended on it. It was only when he heard a soft voice that he looked up.

“I have him,” Niffty whispered, to avoid drawing any more attention to them. “Get yourself to safety.”

“I’m th’ one they want.”

“Doesn’t mean you need to hand yourself over without a fight,” She looked at him with one grim eye. “Don’t let them win.”

“I won’t,” He didn’t know how he would do it, but he refused to let his new family suffer any more because of him. “I promise.”

Niffty nodded once before tugging Husk behind the ruined remains of the front desk, taking care to hide any hint of pastel blue. Angel looked out at the fight, his stomach sinking at the sight before him.

Arackniss was trying to dodge Vaggie’s spear while also attempting to shoot at her, but only really succeeded in not getting stabbed and emptying his guns. Charlie was facing off against Cherri, the hellfire igniting the bombs midair, causing more debris and rubble to rain down on the ruined lobby. As the bombs went off, the skeleton of the building began to catch on fire, blue and red flames alike catching on ruined wallpaper and rugs and beams.

Angel felt his heart stop.

Molly and Alastor were staring each other down, their true demon forms starting to show themselves. Alastor’s antlers were growing, the arms branching out and echoing the bombs with their own cracking sounds. His eyes were dials, blue and crackling as his grin sharpened. Molly was grinning as well, her eyes glowing a light blue as her legs grew. She stood eight feet tall, her hair - now out of its braid - only added to her height. When Angel saw her fangs growing longer from her lips, he almost collapsed.

He knew how poisonous all three of them were.

Alastor charged, his shadow tentacles darting ahead of him in an attempt to pin her down just long enough to get a hit in. Unfortunately she saw what he was planning on doing and jumped out of the way, vaulting all the way over his head and landing heavily on a pile of splintered wood.

“Al!” Angel called out desperately, his voice cracking. Al glanced behind him for a single moment before he found himself pinned against the floor, struggling against Molly, trying to avoid her fangs. If he was bitten, he wouldn’t be killed - there was no such thing as Angelic Poison, after all - but it would weaken him within seconds and cause hallucinations that would leave him absolutely defenseless.

“Stay back Angel,” He ground out, trying to throw Molly off him and failing. “Get yours-self to safety!”

“I ain’t leavin’ ya!” He shouted back. He tried getting to Alastor, only for a loud cracking noise to cause everyone to freeze. Angel glanced up and saw the main support beam of the lobby with a large chunk taken out of the middle, the fire from Cherri’s bombs eating away at what was left. The wood began to creak and shift, and everyone - friend and foe alike - began to scatter. The second this beam came down, the building was going to collapse entirely and you didn’t want to be caught below the downfall. He tried to move, but he felt his foot catch on a piece of debris on the floor. He stumbled as the cracking sound above him got louder.

“TONY-”

Angel felt himself being ripped away from the center of the lobby, familiar arms wrapped around his waist.

He instantly started to struggle, his mind lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. Where was he? Who was he? What was going on?

The arms tightened around him. He glanced to his side and saw a flash of red, a flash of a feather like antenna, a flash of purple-grey skin.

Valentino.

“NOOO-” Angel screamed, tasting iron in the back of his throat as he struggled for his life. If Valentino had him, he was fucked. He was going to be raped and abused and left for dead before it all started over again.

Val, surprised at the sudden scream, loosened his hold on Angel. All he saw was Tony standing under the crashing beam and acted before he knew what he was doing. As he let his hold on Angel go, the support beam finally came down, the force of the impact pushing everyone back and filling the air with dust.

Tears were running down Angel’s cheeks as he tried to escape. His vision was swimming, red and blue worlds melding and disorienting him. It was as if he was trying to see both his own world and this world at the same time, but he wasn’t sure which one he was actually in.

Was he in his world, looking in on the blue world? Was he in the blue world, looking across at his own?

He ripped himself away from Val, the panic coursing through his veins stronger than any drug he had tried before. There was a flash of poofy, curly hair and Angel knew he would be safe with Molly.

He was always safe with Molly. She was his home, his safeplace. He could go to her whenever he needed comfort or support or love. She was the one person he knew he could trust no matter what. He stumbled towards her, arms out. He felt like a child again.

He felt like it was the first time their father had hit him, after he had tried to cut his own hair with Ma’s kitchen scissors because looking at himself with long hair made his skin crawl as if bugs were burrowing under it. He had been beaten, called a disappointment. Called confused, and stupid. Called a dyke. He had gone directly to Molly and sobbed in her arms as their brother got a washcloth of ice to put against the swelling bruise forming on his cheek.

Molly was his safe person, in life and in death.

So why was he being pushed away?

He landed heavily on his tailbone and looked up at Molly, who was staring down at him with such contempt that he thought he was going to be sick.

“Molls...” His throat closed.

“You’re not my brother.” The words hurt worse than the cut on his arm, or the still healing break of his thigh.

“I... I...” Angel stuttered a little, his breathing picking up.

“You... who are you?” Her voice was filled with such venom that Angel felt something snap inside of him.

“Wh-who am I?” He laughed, the sound bitter and toxic. He could almost feel the air around him freeze. “I don’t even know who th’ fuck I am anymore! Am I Tony? Am I Angel? I don’t FUCKING KNOW ANYMORE! I neva wanted ta be here! I neva wanted ta wake up in this world but I’ve been doin’ my fuckin’ best to survive ‘ere but I know I’ll neva belong ‘ere. I know I’ll probably neva see my hotel again. I’ll neva see- I’ll n-neva see my sista. I’ll neva get ta see my best friend. I’ll n-neve get ta see my Al again...”

“Angel-” Alastor tried to reach out, but he was too far away.

“There’s so much I shoulda told him,” His laughter turned into sobs. “I shoulda said I was sorry for that stupid fight we had. I shoulda told him that-that I woulda waited as long as he needed ta be comfortable with me... I shoulda told him how much he fuckin’ meant ta me and now it’s too late cuz even if I survive this fucking nightmare of a fight, I’ll probably neva make it back home again!”

“I’m only gonna ask this one more time,” Molly’s eyes glowed dangerously. “Who. Are. You?”

“I’m motherfuckin’ ANGEL DUST,” He shouted, a manic grin on his face. He could feel his fur matting and hardening where the blood was starting to dry. He felt like an abandoned animatronic - his gears dry and rusted, his memory lost to time. He began to growl, his words warping with the vibrations. “I’m Hell’s top porn star and highest paid escort! Everyone knows my fuckin’ name! They know my name and they know my fuckin’ moans betta than their own partner’s! I’m a gay man with a cunt and tits and I’m not ashamed of who I am anymore! I-I’m in love with a stupid fuckin’ strawberry pimp who can barely stand bein’ touched and I was happy! I was... I was happy...” He broke down, his words tapering off into sobs. “I just wanna go home,” He whimpered, falling to his knees.

He could feel the debris digging into his legs, piercing his skin, but he didn’t care. The scent of gunpowder and iron and dust was so thick in the air that Angel wouldn’t have known if he was bleeding out.

“I wanna wake up...”

Angel felt a hand on his head. Looking up, he could make out Molly’s blurry figure through his tears. She used two of her other hands to cup his cheeks and lift his head up to look him in the eyes.

“I don’t know who you are,” She said, just quiet enough for Angel alone to hear. “But you don’t deserve what you’ve been through.”

“Molls...” He sobbed again, fresh tears burning down his face.

“ANGEL!”

“MOLLY-”

Voices screamed all at once. Angel turned his head a fraction when he saw it - the lobby was nothing more than rubble and a skeleton of the walls, but there were still overhanging pieces above them.

As if in slow motion, Angel watched a flaming beam swing down. He knew where it was going to hit, and there was only one thought going through his mind.

‘Not Molly’.

He dove and slammed his body into hers , throwing her to the ground as he felt the wind get knocked out of him. The burning beam instantly caught his fur on fire, the heat causing his skin to bubble as he struggled to escape from under the wood, but it was too heavy. He was stuck.

“Angel!” Charlie screamed, her voice cracking.

“Oh Lucifer, he’s on fire!” Vaggie sounded both right next to him and across the room.

“Someone help me!” Husk screamed, but it seemed as though he was underwater. The beam across his back shifted, but it only caused him to scream in agony. The shards of the broken wood were deep in his body, piercing him through as the fire licked at his skin.

“TONY!” Arackniss? He sounded so scared. Why?

“Why didja do that you idiot?” Molly sounded strained. Was she crying?

“Get this thing off him!” Val shouted. The beam shifted again.

“It’s too heavy.” Vox’s voice glitched.

“Mon ange,” Alastor’s voice was the only one that Angel was able to hear clearly, as if he were right next to him. “Mon amore, please... don’t leave me too..”

“Al...” He whimpered, his vision going black. He just wanted to go to sleep. He was suddenly very, very tired. “I’m sleepy...”

“I-I know, my love,” Alastor sobbed. “I know but you h-have to stay awake. You have to stay with me.”

“I wanna... sleep.”

“You can’t!” Al’s voice picked up, panic evident in his words. “Angel! ANGEL-”

Angel’s eyes fell shut, and he was no longer in pain.

* * *

  
“Angel... it’s time to wake up...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, but the last one is going to be long! I considered combining them because this was shorter but then it would have gone on WAY too long XD Only one chapter left! I've been loving the comments of y'all trying to guess what's going to happen! I'm super pumped for these last few reveals too!  
> After this is done, I have a plan for another in-cannon fic. It started out as as short angst thing, but the more I messed with my plot outline, the longer it got so I'm excited to write another long fic!  
> School has been absolute HELL but I'm banking on winter break to catch up on my writings so look forward to more consistent updates near mid/end December :D


	9. Home is Where the Heart is

Angel felt warm. Safe, almost. He rolled over, trying to remember where he was, only for panic to bubble in his stomach when he realized he couldn’t recall anything. It was as if he had been floating in black nothingness for... who knows how long.

Burying his face in his pillow, his brow scrunched up in an attempt to remember. He was at the hotel, that much was clear - his room smelled like the cotton candy candle Cherri had stolen for him. He could hear voices coming from downstairs through the small crack in the floorboards as usual.

He remembered... helping Charlie with chores, right? Then the argument with Alastor, which led to...

Angel sat bolt upright in his bed, not caring that the sudden movement made his head spin dangerously. He almost collapsed back onto the plush pillows but managed to catch himself at the last moment. Looking around frantically, he found the familiar decorations of his room alien to him.

How did he get back? What happened with Molly and the hotel? How was he not injured? He remembered getting hurt - really badly - but there wasn’t so much as an ache anywhere on his body. He swung his legs around and placed his feet on the floor, resting his head in his hands.

What happened to Alastor? What happened to Husk and Vaggie and Charlie and Niffty? What about Molly and Arackniss and Cherri? What happened to the blue world?

A loud voice broke through his panicked thoughts. Without hesitation, Angel raced from his room, not bothering to put on any socks or shoes. His silk robe covered what needed to be covered, but he couldn’t bring himself to care - he had more important things to worry about, like getting to the parlor.

“Angel!” Charlie turned to him with a large grin, only for the smile to fade when she saw the frantic look in his eyes. “Is everything alright? Al told me you went to take a nap. Did I work you too hard? I’m so sorry!”

“Wh-?” Angel felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. Everything was... normal. Red and pinks bombarded his eyes - had he really gotten so used to the blue world that the red now made his head ache?

“If you’re still tired you can go back to sleep.” Charlie offered, her voice softening.

“Hun, it’s almost dinnertime,” Vaggie commented. “He should eat first.”

“Oh that’s true,” She turned back to Angel, who was looking around the parlor as though it was the first time he had ever seen it. “Why don’t you go to the gardens for a bit? Niffty took Fat Nuggets out while she did some gardening.”

“Nuggs...” Angel suddenly had to fight back the urge to cry. It felt like MONTHS since he had seen Fat Nuggets. Maybe it really had been months, or maybe it had only been... two hours, according to the clock standing against the wall.

Had he really only been sleeping for two hours? Had the blue world been nothing more than a dream?

He wandered towards the gardens, his mind so loud he didn’t notice someone calling for him.

Had he dreamed everything? Had he imagined Husk and his soft, pastel fur, who climbed into his lap and purred whenever he was overwhelmed, and who had literal stars in his eyes when he got excited? He simply dreamed up Charlie and Vaggie, who despite being polar opposites of his own were still so disgustingly in love? Had he made up Niffty, who he spent weeks trying to get to trust him?

Had he dreamed up Alastor, who touched him with such desperation and awe? Who seemed to crave Angel as much as Angel craved him? Who had been the first person in decades to listen to him sing?

None of them existed?

“Angel! You look sleepy,” Niffty called over to him as he stepped into the heart of the gardens. She was up in a tree, pruning the dead branches with a pair of clippers easily twice her size. Fat Nuggets was sleeping peacefully at the base of the trunk, but instantly woke up at the sound of Angel’s name and ran towards him. “Boss did say you were wiped from working around the hotel. Are you sure you’re not sick? If you’re sick I could make you some soup-”

“I-I’m not sick,” Angel’s words caught in his throat. He caught Fat Nuggets easily, the pig squirming happily - almost as if they missed Angel. As if Angel had been gone for a long, long time. But that wasn’t possible, right? He had only been napping for a few hours. “Just a lil’ fucked up from sleepin’ in th’ middle a’ th’ day.”

“Naps always make me disoriented,” Niffty agreed, sliding down the trunk of the tree. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m making fresh bread for dinner tonight! It should be done baking soon, actually.”

“That sounds great Honey,” Angel offered her a weak smile. He wondered if it would be anywhere near as good as Husk’s fresh bread, that he served with his soup, made from scratch, just for Angel- “I’ll just, uh, hang here till then, aight?”

“Okay! Just make sure to wipe your feet before coming in,” She said quickly. “Don’t track mud back into the hotel!”

“Aight.” Angel nodded. The second Niffty was out of sight, he brought Fat Nuggets closer to his chest. His tears rolled down their smooth back, dripping into the dirt below them.

He couldn’t believe it. Everything... it had all been a dream? He had been in the blue world for MONTHS! More than half a year!

He had let Husk cry into his shoulder during his PTSD flashbacks. He let Charlie rant at him when she got too stressed. He helped Vaggie bake her girlfriend sweets to cheer her up. He and Niffty went through her hoarded items and turned them into hard - he even helped her start to clear out some of the garbage she had been holding onto! He had held Alastor’s hand. He had sung as Alastor played the piano. He had listened to Alastor talk about Anthony, and in turn told Alastor all about his Smiles.

He had started to make a life there, before everything had gone to shit.

“I neva gotta talk ta Pentious,” Angel mumbled to himself. Nugs looked up at him with concerned eyes and nudged the bottom of his chin with their snout. “He seemed excited ‘bout th’ whole multiple universes bullshit...”

“Angel...”

“Al?” Angel turned around to see Alastor standing in the doorway, his eyes seeming even wider without his usual grin to take up the space on his face. Angel placed Nuggs gently on the ground before standing and brushing the dirt off his robe. In the blink of an eye, there were arms around him.

“Mon ange,” Alastor sounded choked. “Please forgive me.”

“Wh- Al whadda talkin’ about?” Angel hugged Alastor back, but hesitantly. He wasn’t used to his Al being touchy.

“I never meant to send you away,” Alastor pulled away from the embrace and Angel saw how glassy his eyes were. “Our argument... I was just so- so angry. Not at you- no, not at you. I was furious because I knew you were right but I- I didn’t know how to let it go. I couldn’t bring myself to admit I was wrong, but I was. Then my powers got the better of me and-”

“Wait,” Angel cut him off, his heart beating hard in his chest. “Are ya sayin’... it was all real? It wasn’t a dream?”

“No, Angel, it wasn’t,” Alastor sighed. “I was lucky you thought to use the radio. Otherwise I never would have been able to pin your location down. I... had to call in a few favors to pull you back to this world... favors that are going to bite me in the ass sooner rather than later, but it was worth it.”

“Are they aight?” Angel’s stomach dropped. If it wasn’t a dream... if everything really did happen, that meant the fight had also happened.

“Alright?”

“We were in the middle of a fight,” He felt his skin crawling, panic settling in as it had when he first woke up. “Molly was- the hotel was-”

“From what I can tell, we went back to the day everything happened,” Alastor took Angel’s hands in his own, placing the spider’s palm against his cheek and closing his eyes. He looked peaceful for a moment before he let out a heavy sigh. “I remember, because I was the one who caused all of this, and I’m guessing you remember because you were the victim of everything, but no one else knows.”

“So hopefully they went back too,” Angel could only pray that they did. It hurt a little to think that they wouldn’t remember him at all, but as long as he remembered them, it would be alright. “They’re safe, and Anthony-” He cut himself off, eyes widening.

“Who?” Alastor asked, confused at the sudden change in the other demon.

“Did- did Anthony take my spot here?” Angel asked, almost hopefully.

“No,” Alastor seemed regretful as he shook his head. “You were just... gone.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Angel’s face crumpled. “If I was there, ‘e shoulda been here, right? What happened ta ‘im when I was in ‘is body?”

“I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to know,” He sighed. “Just having you back is enough. I don’t want to pry into things I don’t need to know and have something catastrophic happen in return.”

“I just... I wanna know if they’re aight,” Angel’s throat stung. “It-it was gonna rain tonight, and Husker always gets bad flashbacks when it rains... I always help ‘im through it, but I- I won’t be there tonight... He p-probably doesn’t even r-remember who I am, if everythin’ went back in time.”

He didn’t know why the thought made his chest ache so much, but he found it hurt to take a breath. After all that time, it was if he had never existed in that world to begin with. Al laced his fingers through Angel’s and gestured for Fat Nuggets to follow.

“Come along, mon amore,” He said gently. Angel could see how his ears trembled the faintest bit - the first sign of Al being uncomfortable that he learned to recognize. He tried to take his hand back, only for Alastor to hold it firmer. “I believe we have much to catch up on.”

“I guess...” Angel let himself be led back up to his room. Once inside, Nuggets went to play with their toys as the two demons sat on the bed.

“Angel...” Alastor trailed off, staring at the other. Angel stared back, his mind swirling with a thousand thoughts.

He never thought he would see his Alastor again, yet he was sitting right next to him. He never thought he would be in his own room again, or hear Nuggs playing with with their squeaky toys, but both of those things were happening. He never thought he would make it home, so he tried to make a life in the blue world. He tried to carve a little space out for him, so he would fit in at least a little bit. He befriended them, and let them become part of his family. He let their Al comfort him, when his fears were too much to handle-

His stomach sank.

“I-” Angel’s eyes stung. “I’m sorry. Oh fuck, I’m sorry-”

“For what?” Alastor asked gently, patting Angel’s cheek with a red handkerchief he had pulled out of nowhere. Angel hadn’t even realized he had been crying.

“I- the otha Al-” He could feel his breathing speed up. How could he face Alastor knowing he had... was it even considered cheating? Given the situation?

“Did you have a relationship with my doppelganger?” Alastor asked calmly. Despite this, Angel still flinched back, as if expecting to be hit. Even if he was a whore, he wasn’t unfaithful.

“Al I-”

“It’s alright,” Alastor offered a small smile. “I can only imagine what you must have been feeling, all alone in a strange world... and it was all my fault...”

“But I cheated-”

“On me with me,” Alastor chuckled. “This truly is a vexing situation, but there’s no reason to get hung up on it.”

“I neva thought I’d see ya again,” Angel whispered, folding his hands in his lap. “I thought... I thought I was gonna be there for all a eternity... Him and Tony had a thing, but Tony wasn’t supa nice about it, so when I showed up and t-took Tony’s place...”

“You replaced your other version?” Alastor asked, eyes widening a fraction.

“Mm, woke up in ‘is body,” he chuckled. “Hafta say, it was fuckin’ weird. Didn’t have my tits anymore and all he ‘ad was suits. I had ta pull out th’ sewing skills ta make some cute things ta wear. Afta a while... I started takin’ ova. His teal started ta fade ta my pink. My tits grew back, and apparently his dick disappeared. It was...”

“Disorienting?”

“That’s puttin’ it lightly,” Another chuckle, this one more hollow. “I feel like... I feel like they died, ya know? I know I’m neva gonna see them again, so it’s like they’re dead....”

“No more tears, mon ange,” Alastor whispered, but that only spurred on Angel’s sobs. He turned and hid his face in Al’s shoulder, letting himself grieve. “It’s alright...”

Angel could barely hear him. It really was as if they were dead, because he really would never get to see them again, for as long as his eternal punishment remains. Now, whenever he sees his Husk, he’ll think of the Blue Husk’s heart eyes whenever he would be pet. Whenever he saw Vaggie, he would think of all the deep, dark conversations they shared. Even though he was home - even though everything was finally OKAY - he would forever have part of himself in that other world.

“What’s wrong with me?” He asked through his tears. He felt Alastor tense but continued before the deer had a chance to speak. “I w-was so scared that I’d neva fit in there. I thought I’d only eva belong here, but now that they’re gone I’m scared I won’t fit in completely here anymore! I don’t... I don’t... I don’t belong anywhere anymore.”

“You belong here, with us.” Alastor sounded strained.

“I miss them...” Angel’s cries began to taper off into sniffles. “I’m neva gonna see them again...”

“Maybe we could...” Alastor trailed off, knowing what he was about to suggest was too risky. It was too dangerous to attempt to contact the other world, especially considering how long Angel had been there. There was no telling what could happen - if Angel got sucked back, or if the two worlds were to somehow merge into a new universe entirely. The odds were stacked too high on the side of chaos, and for once it wasn’t the type of chaos that Alastor wanted to see.

“I’m tired,” Angel whispered. He remembered the last things he said to the Blue Al and his chest tightened. “I’m really fuckin’ tired.”

“Let’s rest then,” Alastor maneuvered the both of them onto the bed more comfortably, with Angel’s head resting on his chest. He pushed down the discomfort, holding the spider closer. To everyone else, it had only been a few hours, but to Alastor it had been months.

Months that he had spent trying to think of any possible way to bring Angel home. Months spent not sleeping because he knew it was his fault. Months of being called out by the others - of being notified of his change in morals. He had been too focused on fixing his wrongs to notice, but Husk and the others saw him evolving. He was less interested in causing death and pain and mayhem and more concerned about keeping the hotel from falling apart.

When Angel went missing, Charlie was a mess. Vaggie had almost convinced her that he had run off from the hotel when Husk commented that Angel would never have left Fat Nuggets behind, no matter what he was going though. Charlie had calmed down for a moment before freaking out even worse than before because that meant something genuinely bad had happened to Angel. For months, Alastor had to balance his public image of being the Radio Demon with being a responsible sponsor to the hotel. He said it was all for the entertainment, but deep down he couldn’t let himself lose anything else.

Angel wheezed gently in his sleep, the fur on his face still damp. Alastor smoothed the puffed up hairs and wondered just what happened to Angel in that other world. He wanted to know, but would asking make Angel upset? He decided to wait until the morning to ponder that decision any more and finally let his eyes fall close. As he drifted off to sleep, he realized how comfortable it was, napping with Angel. He asked himself why he hadn’t done this sooner, then his world went dark.

* * *

  
“What are you starting at?” Husk snapped, scowling at Angel, who just happened to be doing just that - staring. Angel blinked, having been lost in his thoughts, before waving the cat off dismissively.

“Normally I charge fa this,” He grinned. It had been less than twenty four hours since he had woken back in in the red world, and he was struggling to act like himself again.

There, no one knew him as Angel Dust the Porn Star, so there were no airs to keep up - there were no masks he needed to wear. He could be himself, and no one would say he was acting out of character for being more genuine and serious. “So ya should be thankin’ me.”

“As if I’d ever thank you for being a pervert,” Husk growled, his fur puffing up slightly in indignation. Angel pretended the reaction didn’t sting and fought back a sigh. He missed Blue Husk’s cuddles and his endless compliments. “The fuck is wrong with you? You look like someone just double died.”

“Nothin,” He said softly, his eyes stinging. Husk wasn’t wrong - someone did die. Multiple someones, in fact, but he couldn’t talk about it to anyone without being seen as completely insane. He still hesitated to tell even Al all the details, because he was convinced the other demon would think he’s making it up, or being too emotional. “Just... missin’ some friends is all.”

“What friends? All your friends are in this fucking hotel,” He turned away from Angel, missing how the spider seemed to curl in on himself. “Who is there to miss?”

Angel opened his mouth only to close it again. He could feel a sob building in the back of his throat and he refused to let it out. Not in front of anyone who wasn’t Al and especially not in front of Husk, who would most definitely mock him for it.

Angel heard rain knock gently at the windows. He wondered if Husk had someone to hold him through the storm, or if now that Angel was gone, he would be all alone again.

The thought made him whimper softly. Husk must have heard him somehow, and when the cat turned around he frowned and studied Angel’s face closely.

“Come here,” He said after a minute. He put the little sign on the bar that said he would be back soon and walked into the storage room directly behind the bar area. Angel hesitated, but when Husk poked his head back out of the red curtain to glare at him, he stood and followed quickly. The store room was as he remembered it, not that he had been back there all that often - Husk was very protective of it, so the only times Angel had ever been behind the curtain was to help carry new supplies in. “Sit down.”

Angel was nudged towards a plain white cot shoved against one of the walls. Husk pulled up a crate and sat on it, pulling his legs up under him and letting his wings lay comfortably along his back and down the crate, the primary flight feathers crossing slightly behind him. Angel sat, wondering if this was the type of cot that Husk had to sleep in during the war - and if so, why would the cat have something that would remind him of such horrific, traumatic memories?

“Not that I ain’t flattered, but why didja bring me back ‘ere?” Angel asked, his leg starting to bounce a little. He tried to keep the prideful trill in his words but they sounded hollow even to him.

“Something’s fucking you up,” Husk stated plainly. “So out with it. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with me.”

“That’s bullshit and we both know it,” Husk snapped before letting his face soften the slightest bit. “Look, I know I’m shit when it comes to emotions, but I can tell something’s bothering you and... and I don’t want to watch you sulk, so spill.”

Angel looked up at Husk, who was refusing to meet his eyes. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he let out a soundless chuckle. Husk really was bad with emotions, but he always knew when something was wrong. He had an odd way of showing he cared, but the hotel residents were learning to understand him better.

“I had... a really weird dream,” Angel started softly. Husk’s ears pulled back a little at the sudden vulnerability in the other’s voice. “It felt like... it felt like I was in this dream fa months. Over half a year, actually.”

“Long ass dream.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Angel wrapped both sets of arms around himself. “So this dream... it had all a yous, but you were different.”

“Different how?” Husk’s tail flicked.

“Ya were the complete opposite of how ya are now. Everyone was fuckin’ blue,” Angel’s smile became more genuine, but at the same time sadder as well. “Ya were this- this pastel blue nightmare. Your eyes showed all a your emotions clear as day, and ya always tried ta cheer me up with some sort a soup. Wh-wheneva ya had a bad day, you’d sit on my lap and I’d pet ya until th’ flashbacks stopped.”

“And the others?” Husk’s voice sounded odd.

“Charlie was a raging bitch,” Angel chuckled. “She was eitha threatein’ ta kill someone or ta kill herself if shit didn’t get done exactly how she wanted it. Vaggie was... sweet, and excited all th’ time. She and Charlie were still togetha, which makes me think that maybe soulmates really do exist, you know? Niffty was a hoarder who didn’t trust anyone, especially not me.”

“What about Al?” Husk’s feathers ruffled quietly.

“Al was... fuckin’ insane,” Angel laughed fully, his head tilting back for a moment. “He made people feel bad fa him by actin’ real helpless and lurin’ them away ta eat them. He was kinda shy compared ta my Al, but he was... He liked bein’ with me. He liked sleepin’ with me and it wasn’t because a my job, or my body. He liked me cuz I was like his Tony, so we were kinda usin’ each otha to... I dunno, find somethin’ we’d lost?”

“It sounds like you got along really well with these other versions of us.”

“I did,” Angel smiled at his lap, letting his hands fall onto it. “I fit in... really well there, but it wasn’t home. No matta how long I stayed, I neva would a’ belonged there.”

“You’re talking about this like it really happened.” Husk had noticed early on, and wondered if Angel even knew he was doing it. Angel blinked, his fur puffing out a little at being caught.

“Sounds crazy, right?” he chuckled bitterly. “All just... one big dream.”

“Crazier things have happened.” Husk knew something was up, particularly with Al and now with Angel. He was a very observant demon when he wanted to be, and he almost instantly realized something was going on with his boss. Al was suddenly much nicer, and more patient. Not only that, but he had the sudden need to dote excessively on Angel, seemingly out of nowhere. Two days ago they were barely even dating, but now...

Something changed, and Husk wanted to find out what.

“You got that fuckin’ right.” Angel’s face crumpled, his eyes stinging.

Husk looked away, not wanting to see Angel cry. There was just something so wrong about seeing the normally loud, confident spider looking so small and defeated. His tail flicked violently behind him.

He would corner Alastor later and get the rest of the story, but for the time being there were more pressing matters.

“Lay back.” He said gruffly. Angel blinked, a singly tear dripping off his eyelashes.

“What?”

“Did I fucking stutter?”

“N-no...” Angel scrubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands before doing as he was told, confusion clear in his face. Husk took a breath before climbing off the crate and making his way over to the cot. Angel opened his mouth to ask what he was doing, only to snap it closed again when Husk curled up on top of his chest, letting his wings cover them both like a blanket.

Angel instantly wrapped his arms around Husk, burying his face in the cat’s fur. It wasn’t as soft as Blue’s, and smelled of smoke and cheap alcohol rather than the faint candy sweetness the other always seemed to carry, but the rush of comfort that flowed through Angel’s chest was so strong that it was almost physically painful.

“Go the fuck to sleep, idiot.” Husk’s voice sounded gruffer. Angel realized it was because he had started purring softly.

“Aight, no need ta get ya tail inna twist.” Angel chuckled, hiding his face. Husk wouldn’t be able to see him crying, but he would be able to feel the tears soaking into dark fur.

It wasn’t the same, but it was enough.

* * *

  
Angel sat in his room, thinking. Alastor had just left after spending a lazy morning with the spider. They hadn’t done anything more than sit together and talk - about the blue world, and about Alastor’s ‘favors’ that he called in, and where their relationship would go from then on. They talked a good deal about Angel's relationship with the Blue Alastor as well, and in the end they were both content with the conclusions they ended up at. Somehow, there was always something new to bring up no matter how many times they talked about it. It had been a week, and Angel was still trying to remind Al that he didn’t need to push himself to make him happy.

He had a feeling Al was jealous of his other self, and was trying to make up for it. Angel made a point to remind him that he didn’t need constant sex or touching to be happy.

Just being with Al made him happy.

But now he was left thinking again. He had been finding it was a dangerous pastime. Val had been blowing up his phone, but he didn’t care. He knew Alastor would protect him if Val were to come after him, and it seemed Valentino knew it too. As much as he threatened to take his property back, and dangled Angel’s contract over his head, the most he had done was leave threatening voicemails and send the limo to loiter outside of the hotel.

Angel couldn’t bring himself to face his pimp. All he could think of was the other Val, who risked his skin to save Angel. The Val who acted more like a father in the short time he had known him than anyone else in Angel’s life and death combined. He didn’t want to taint that image with the reality of his own Valentino.

He thought of Alastor. Not his Al, but the Blue Alastor. They used to talk about Angel’s situation quite a bit. They would talk about what would happen if Angel could never get home, or if he could. They talked about Angel’s fears, and about Al’s fears. They discussed hypotheticals and were even able to laugh about it occasionally.

“Wonda what he’s doin’ ‘bout all this,” Angel said to himself with a soft chuckle. “He’d probably be mad that I’m fuckin’ sulkin’.” Al had always tried to help Angel see the best of the situation, even though he knew it wasn’t a good situation to begin with.

Angel let his eyes fall close, not to sleep but to calm the faint pulsing that was starting to build up in his skull. Thinking too much either gave him a headache or a stomachache. The sudden darkness was nice. It gave his poor brain a break from being constantly bombarded with constant what-ifs.

A faint crackling made him crack his eyes open again. He glanced over to the radio, slightly confused. Whenever Alastor wanted to speak to him, the radio never announced it ahead of time. He would just start speaking and Angel would hear him loud and clear - there had never been that much feedback before.

Blue sparks lit up the radio, the dials spinning wildly. Angel sat up quickly, his heart hammering loudly Blue sparks? That could only be-

_“Blistering cold_

_Can keep us apart_

_But I know_

_You’ll never forget_

_How I love you”_

Angel teared up, grinning as wide as he could. There was only one person who knew the lyrics to that song. There was only one soul that he had shared this song with.

_“I know now_

_I can count on you_

_No matter weather_

_For you’re a gem, a gas, a charm.”_

“It’s good ta hear from ya Al,” Angel said through his tears. “Tell everyone I miss ‘em, aight?”

_“Distance means nothing_

_When a soul meets its destiny._

_So remember me,_

_Until we can meet again,_

_Under the blossoming trees._

_For I’ll always remember you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I say it at the end of literally every fic I write, but I'm particularly sad to see this one end. I guess I feel extra connected to the 2P characters seeing how much I was able to shape their personalities. I wish there was more in the fandom for them, but I used what I could find! I'm genuinely thinking about a oneshot, or an extra chapter where Angel actually manages to talk/see the blue cast, but that might morph into something even bigger and I want to focus on the new longer-fic idea I've been plotting.  
> Thank you everyone for reading and keeping up with this! I know it's not what most are used to reading, so thank you for giving it a chance :D Seeing how excited everyone got for the plot twists and updates made writing this that much more worthwhile!

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! Another long fic! I know this opening chapter is kinda short, and a little dry, but I needed some set up for the rest of the story. I was torn between doing 2P and part switch, but I decided that the 2P au would fit best for the narrative and character studies I want to do. I'm honestly not sure if this reads choppily because I'm stressing the frICK out from school, or if it's genuinely choppy XD Like I said, I promise it'll get more interesting!
> 
> Even with school, I'm hoping to update this semi regularly because I'm going to use it as a mental time out when I start to burn out from homework. If anyone has read my fics before, then you know how I am with chapter numbers and changing it daily, but I am working on a plot list and so far I have some pretty interesting things! I'm gonna aim for a rounded 10 but that's so far up in the air it's out of sight XD 
> 
> If anyone wants to see something specific, let me know! I'd love to try to work in suggestions!


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